HISTOEY OF THE COUNCILS OF THE CHURCH.
PRINTED BT MORRISON ASD GIBB,
FOB
T. & T. CLARK, EDINBURGH.
LOKDON I SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, HAMILTON, KENT, AND CO. LIMITED.
NEW YORK: CHARLES SCRIBKER'B soys.
TOBOHTO : THE WILLABD TEACT DEPOSITOEV.
A HISTORY
H on
COUNCILS OF THE CHURCH.
FROM THE ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS.
BY THE
RIGHT REV. CHARLES JOSEPH HEFELE, D.D.,
LATE BISHOP OF EOTTESTBdC,
FOBJtEXLY FBOFKSSOK OF THEOLOGY Df THE TCITKEsnT OF TTBCSCKK.
VOLUME IV.
AJ). 451 TO A.D. 680.
WILLIAM R CLARK,
MX. Boat. LLJX, D.CL,
. X.T.
EDINBURGH:
T. & T. CLARK, 38 GEORGE STR
1895.
APR 1 5
PREFACE.
IT must be confessed that students of the Councils of the
Church experience a relaxation of interest when they have
passed the great Council of Chalcedon. Those, however, who
persevere in their studies will certainly confess that they are
amply rewarded for their pains. It is not merely that the
history of the Church is continuous, and that the whole can
be understood only as we understand the parts ; but there is
a living interest in the questions and problems which were
perpetually coming up for solution in the Church ; and the
principal controversy handled in the present volume, that of
the Three Chapters, is full of instruction in many ways.
In regard to the translation, it may be remarked that no
attempt has been made to render the names of ancient places
and persons in a uniform manner. Such an attempt would
not only savour of pedantry, but would also be inconvenient
to the reader. Those forms have been adopted which are
generally understood, and, for the sake of clearness, sometimes
two forms have been given.
It is hoped that this volume will be found to be as accu-
rate as its predecessors. Every care has been taken to avoid
mistakes. If any remain, the Editor will be grateful for
corrections. He must add that his special thanks are due to
an accomplished friend who has kindly compiled the Index.
A fifth volume will bring the work to the close of the
seventh Council, the last acknowledged as ecumenical by the
whole Church. The publication of this final volume of the
English translation must depend upon the demand for that
which is now issued.
W. R C.
Advent, 1894.
CONTENTS.
BOOK XII.
THE LATER SYNODS OF THE FIFTH CENTURY.
PAGE
SEC. 209. The First Decade after the Council of Chalcedon, . . 1
,, 210. Irish Syuods under Patrick, 7
,, 211. Synods in Gaul, Rome, Spain, etc., between the Years
460 and 475, ...... 10
,, 212. Synods at Aries on the Doctrine of Grace, in the Years
475-480, 20
,, 213. Synods on the Affairs of the Greek and Oriental Churches, . 24
,, 214. Religious Conference at Carthage, A.D. 484, . 35
,, 215. Synod in the Lateran at Rome, A.D. 487 or 488, . . 38
,, 216. Synods in Persia and at Constantinople, . . .40
,, 217. The two Roman Synods under Pope Gelasius. The Gelasiau
Decree de libris recipiendis, . .... 42
,, 218. The last Synods of the Fifth Century, ... 47
,, 219. Belgium Conference in the Kingdom of Burgundy, at Lyons, 53
BOOK XIII.
THE SYNODS OF THE FIRST HALF OF THE SIXTH CENTURY TO
THE OUTBREAK OF THE CONTROVERSY OF THE THREE
CHAPTERS.
SEC. 220. The Roman Synods under Pope Symmachus, A.D. 501-504, . 58
,, 221. Byzacene Synod, A.D. 504 or 507, . . . .75
„ 222. Synod at Agde (Agatha), A.D. 506, . . . ' . 76
,, 223. Supposed Synod at Toulouse, Conciliabulum at Antioch, A.D.
507 and 508, ...... 86
,, 224. First Synod of Orleans, A.D. 511, . . . .87
,, 225. Oriental Synods on the Monophysite Question, . .92
,, 226. Two British Synods, A.D. 512 and 516, ... 93
,, 227. Synod at Agaunum or S. Moritz, between 515 and 523, . 94
,, 228. Synods in Illyria and Epirus, and at Lyons, in the Years
515 and 516, ...... 98
vii
Vlll CONTENTS.
PAGE
SEC. 229. Synods at Tarragona, A.D. 516, and at Gerunda, A.D. 517, . 102
,, 230. Two Gallican Synods between 514 and 51", . . . 106
,, 231. Synod at Epaon, in Burgundy, A.D. 517, . . . 107
,, 232. Synod at Lyons, A.D. 517, . . . . .114
,, 233. Synods at Constantinople, Jerusalem, Tyre, Syria, Rome, and
Epirus, in connection with the Monophysites, A.D. 518-520, 116
,, 234. Synods in Wales and at Tournay, . . . .123
, , 235. Synodal Letter of the African Bishops banished to Sardinia
from the Year 523, ...... 125
,, 236. Synods at Junca and Sufes in Africa, .... 130
,, 237. Synods at Aries, Lerida, and Valencia, A.D. 524 (546), . 131
„ 238. Synod at Carthage, A.D. 525, ..... 138
,, 239. Synod at Carpentras, A.D. 527, . . . .143
,, 240. Synod at Dovin, in Armenia, A.D. 527, . . . 145
,, 241. Second Synod of Toledo, A.D. 527 or 531, . . .148
,, 242. Second Synod at Orange, and Synod at Valence, A.D. 529, . 152
,, 243. Second Synod at Vaison, A.D. 529, .... 169
,, 244. Synods at Rome, Larissa, and Constantinople, A.D. 531, . 171
,, 245. Religious Conference at Constantinople, A.D. 533, and the
alleged Roman Synod under Pope John II., . . 176
,, 246. Synod at Marseilles on account of Bishop Contumeliosus,
A.D. 533, . . . . . . .181
,, 247. Second Synod at Orleans, A.D. 533, .... 185
,, 248. Synod at Carthage, A.D. 535, ..... 188
,, 249. Synod at Clermont, in Auvergne (Concilium Arvemense),
A.D. 535, ....... 190
,, 250. Synods at Constantinople and Jerusalem, A.D. 536, . . 192
„ 251. Third Synod at Orleans, A.D. 538, . . . .204
,, 252. Synods at Barcelona and in the Province of Byzacene, . 209
,, 253. Fourth Synod at Orleans, A.D. 541, .... 210
,, 254. Synods at Antioch and Gaza, A.D. 542, . . . 215
,, 255. Edict of Justinian against Origen, ..... 217
,, 256. Synod at Constantinople on account of Origen, A.D. 543, . 221
,, 257. The Fifteen Anathematisms on Origen, . . . 221
BOOK XIV.
THE CONTROVERSY OF THE THREE CHAPTERS AND
THE FIFTH (ECUMENICAL SYNOD.
CHAPTEK I.
EVENTS PRECEDING THE OPENING OF THE FIFTH SYNOD.
SEC. 258. Origin of the Controversy of the Three Chapters, . . 229
,, 259. Pope Vigilius and his Judicatum of April 11, 548, . . 249
CONTENTS. ix
PAOE
SEC. 260. Opposition to the Judicatum, ..... 259
,, 261. The Judicatum is withdrawn, and a great Synod proposed, . 265
,, 262. Synod at Mopsuestia, A.D. 550, .... 265
,, 262s.The African Deputies, ..... 268
,, 263. Second Imperial Edict against the Three Chapters, . . 269
,, 264. Protest, Persecution, and two Flights of the Pope, . . 278
,, 265. New Negotiations for gaining over Pope Vigilius, . . 283
,, 266. Vigilius gives and recalls his Assent to the holding of an
(Ecumenical Synod, ..... 286
CHAPTER II.
THE TRANSACTIONS OF THE FIFTH OECUMENICAL SYNOD.
SEC. 267. The First Session and the Acts of the Synod, . . . 289
,, 268. Second and Third Sessions on the 8th and 9th of May, . 302
,, 269. Fourth Session on the 12th or 13th of May, . . . 305
,, 270. Fifth Session on 17th May, ..... 307
,, 271. Sixth Session on 19th May, ..... 312
„ 272. The Constitutum of Vigilius, 14th May 553, . . .316
,, 273. Seventh Session, 26th May, ..... 323
,, 274. Eighth and Last Session, 2nd June 553, . . . 326
CHAPTER III.
RECOGNITION OF THE FIFTH OECUMENICAL SYNOD AND FURTHER
COURSE OF THE CONTROVERSY ON THE THREE CHAPTERS.
SEC. 275. Synod at Jerusalem, A.D. 553. The Emperor endeavours to
compel the recognition of the Fifth Synod, . . . 343
,, 276. Pope Vigilius confirms the Fifth Synod, . . . 345
,, 277. Many Westerns refuse to recognise the Fifth Synod, . . 351
,, 278. The Schism in Upper Italy. .Tuscany and France are also
against the Fifth Synod, ..... 354
,, 279. Victories of the Longobardi. Partial Union of the Milanese, 356
,, 280. Attempts at Union with the See of Grado, . . . 357
,, 281. Gregory the Great works for Union. Synods of the
Schismatics, ...... 358
,, 282. The Union of the Province of Milan is renewed and
extended, ....... 362
,, 283. End of the Schism, ...... 363
CONTENTS.
BOOK XV.
INTERVAL BETWEEN THE FIFTH AND SIXTH (ECUMENICAL
SYNODS, UNTIL THE BEGINNING OF THE MONOTHELITE
CONTROVERSIES.
CHAPTEE I.
THE SYNODS UNTIL THE END OF THE SIXTH CENTURY.
PAGE
SEC. 284. The Frankish Synods about the middle of the Sixth Century, 366
„ 285. The Synods between the Years 560 and 575, . . .380
,, 286. The Synods between the Years 575 and 589, . . .399
,, 287. Spain becomes Catholic at the Third Synod of Toledo, A. D. 589, 416
,, 288. The last Synods of the Sixth Century, . . . 422
CHAPTEE II.
THE SYNODS NOT RELATING TO MONOTHELITISM
BETWEEN THE YEARS 600 AND 680.
SEC. 289. Synods between the Years 600 and 630, . . . 430
,, 290. Synods not referring to Monothelitism, between A.D. 633
and 680, ....... 449
INDEX, ......... 493
HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
BOOK XII.
THE LATER SYNODS OF THE FIFTH CENTURY.
SEC. 209. The First Decade after the Council of Chalcedon.
1VTO Synod of great importance was held during the forty-
-L' nine years which elapsed between the close of the
Council of Chalcedon and the end of the fifth century,
although the number of ecclesiastical assemblies held during
this period was by no means small. It was natural that soon
after the holding of the fourth (Ecumenical Council several
provincial Synods should assemble. These would meet for
one of two purposes, either to give their solemn assent to the
decrees of the Council, or else, where the Monophysites had
the upper hand, to make their public protest against them.
The ancient Libellus Synodicus l mentions several small Synods
belonging to this epoch, which were held at Alexandria, Con-
stantinople, Eome, and Antioch ; but neither the exact time
of their assembling is given, nor the subject of their trans-
actions.2 We know more of a Gallican Synod which was
held towards the end of the year 451, and so a few weeks
after the close of the Council of Chalcedon, at Aries, under
the presidency of Ravennius, the archbishop of that diocese.
This Synod gave its assent in the most forcible terms to the
Epistola dogmatica of Leo. The synodal letter addressed to
the Pope is No. 99 among the Letters of Leo the Great, and
his answer of January 27, 452, is No. 102.3
1 On this book cf. vol. i. p. 78.
- Mansi, t. vii. p. 870 ; Hardouin, t. v. p. 1526.
8 Leonis Opp. ed. Bailer, t. i. p. 1107 ; also in Mansi, t. vi. p. 161.
IV. I
2 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
A Council was held at Alexandria, under the Patriarch
Proterius, about the same time, only a little later (A.D. 452),
and gave its assent to the decrees of Chalcedon, and deposed
Timothy ^Elurus,1 who, as priest, was the spiritual head of
the Egyptian Monophysites, as well as four or five bishops
and several monks among his followers. We do not possess
the Acts of this assembly ; but they are referred to by the
Egyptian bishops in a communication still in existence which
they addressed, several years afterwards, to the Emperor Leo.2
Martene and Durandus believed that they had discovered
a fragment relating to a Synod held about this time at Frejus.
This fragment, which is reproduced in the collection of Coleti,3
belongs, however, as Mansi 4 has shown, to the Synodal Letter
of the Concilium Valentinum (at Valence) of the year 374,
which we have already mentioned (vol. i. p. 288). Mention
has also been made (vol. iii. p. 167) of the so-called second
Council of Aries, which some have assigned to the year 452,
but which probably belongs to the year 443. Another
Gallican Synod of this period held at Narbonne under the
presidency of Eusticus, the archbishop of that place, is
ordinarily assigned to the year 452 ; 5 but which the Ballerini
have more accurately assigned to the year 458.6 The occa-
sion of its being held was a complaint brought by two priests,
Sabinian and Leo, against several persons, apparently of dis-
tinction, accusing them of adultery. In order to examine
into the matter, Eusticus assembled his suffragan bishops and
other eminent persons (honorati) ; but the two priests lacked
the courage to follow up their accusation, and Rusticus there-
fore, with the assent of his Synod, inquired of Pope Leo the
Great whether they were to be punished or not. He also
subjoined a further series of questions on canon law, and
indicated his wish to resign. This gave occasion to the Pope
for the composition of his 167th epistle, in which he solves
the canonical difficulties brought before him, dissuades
Eusticus from resigning, and in regard to the two priests
1 See vol. iii. p. 450. 2 Mansi, t. vii. p. 525 ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 692.
3 See vol. i. p. 71. 4 Mansi, t. vii. p. 871.
5 Mansi, t. vii. p. 898 ; Walch, Histor. der Kirchenvers. S. 314.
6 In their edition of the works of Leo the Great, t. i. p. 1414, n. 8.
THE FIRST DECADE AFTER THE COUNCIL OF CIIALCEDON. 6
gives his judgment that, as their complaints had been made
in the interests of chastity, Rusticus should treat them
gently, ne didbolus, qui decepit adulteros, de adulterii eocultet
ultoribus.1
To the same year, 458, belongs that Roman Synod of
which Pope Leo the Great speaks in his 166th letter to
Bishop Neo of Ravenna, and which formerly was erroneously
assigned to the year 451 or 452.2 This Synod gave decisions
on several questions : that (1) those who had been taken
captive in childhood, and did not remember whether they had
been baptized or not, should institute as careful inquiries as
might be possible, in order to ascertain the fact. Should
these inquiries lead to no result, they might without hesita-
tion receive holy baptism. (2) Those, on the contrary, who
had been baptized by heretics, should not be rebaptized, but
the power of the Holy Ghost should be imparted to them by
the laying on of hands by the bishop.3
In the year 453 the epistle of Leo to the Council of
Chalcedon (see vol. iii. p. 443) was read at a new Synod,
probably at Constantinople ; but the second part of it, con-
taining the protest against the 28th canon of Chalcedon, was
nevertheless kept back. This we learn from the 127th letter
of Leo to Bishop Julian of Cos.4
In the same year, 453, on the 4th of October, the elec-
tion of a new bishop, Talasius, for Angers (Andegavum) in
Gaul, gave occasion for the holding in this city of a provincial
Synod, at which seven bishops were present. These were
Eustochius of Tours, Leo of Bourges, Victorius of Mans,
Chariaton, Rumorius, Viventius (the sees of these unknown),
and the newly-elected Talasius of Angers. The presidency
properly belonged to Bishop Eustochius, but in the Acts, Leo of
Bourges is named primo loco ; and it is probable that the latter
— as being invited from another province — was requested, as
1 Leonis Opp. ed. Bailer, t. i. p. 1415 sq. ; Mausi, t. vi. p. 397 sqq., and
Sirmond, Concilia Gallice, t. i. p. Ill sqq.
2 By Baluze in Mansi, t. vii. p. 871. Correctly by Bailer. I.e. pp. 1405 and
1408, Not. 21.
3 We learn this from the 166th letter of Leo the Great, already mentioned.
Bailer. I.e. p. 1405 sqq.; Mansi, t. vi. p. 387.
4 Bailer, t. i. p. 1246 sqq. ; Mansi, t. vi. p. 266, and t. vii. p. 899.
4 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
a matter of courtesy, to assume the presidency. They drew
up twelve canons, which are preserved in all the collections of
Councils,1 and contain the following provisions : —
1. Clerics must not appeal to the secular tribunals with-
out the consent of their bishops, and must take no journey
without their permission, or without commendatory letters
from them.
2. Deacons must honour priests.
3. Every act of violence and maiming of the members is
forbidden.2
4. Clerics must avoid familiarity with strange women.
If they are themselves unmarried, they must for attendants
have only their sisters or aunts or mothers. Whoever dis-
regards this prohibition, shall be raised to no higher grade,
and, if he is already ordained (i.e. if he has already received
an ordo major), he shall not discharge his sacred functions.
If clerics have assisted in delivering over their towns to the
enemy, or in their being taken by them, they shall not only
be excommunicated, but it is forbidden to others to eat with
them.
5. The same punishment shall be inflicted on those who
abandon a course of penitence already begun ; and so with
women who, of their own accord, fall away from a state of
virginity dedicated to God.
6. Any one who marries the wife of another during his
lifetime shall be excommunicated.
7. Clerics who abandon their office, and take service in
war, shall be deposed by the Church which they abandoned.
8. Monks who travel about unnecessarily shall, unless
they amend, be rejected from communion by their abbots
and by priests.
9. Bishops are not permitted to confer higher orders upon
the clerics of other dioceses.
10. Laymen or clerics who have been ordained as servers
1 Mansi, t. vii. p. 899 sqq. ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 777 sqq. ; Sirmond, Concilia
OallicE, t. i. p. 116 sqq. Cf. on this Synod also Tillemont, Mtmoires, etc. t.
xvi. p. 394.
- Instead of the ordinary text, "Ut a violentia et crimine perputationis
abstineatur,' Hardouin preferred, " Ut a vinolentia et crimine perpotationis,"
etc. Perputatio=membri amputetio. Du Cange, Glossar. s.h.v.
THE FIRST DECADE AFTER THE COUNCIL OF CHALCEDON. 5
at the altar (deacons), and refuse to fulfil their office, must
be punished. Laymen are not to be excommunicated unless
their offence is proved. (That this is the sense of the
entirely corrupt text of the second half of our canon, appears
from the heading and the notes of Sirmond.1)
11. Only one who has been married but once, and with a
virgin, can be made a deacon or a priest.
12. All who confess their fault shall be admitted to
penance, and shall receive absolution in proportion to the
greatness of their offence, and according to the judgment of
the bishop.
The same which is contained in the first canon of this
Synod of Angers was ordained about the same time by
another Gallican Synod in the province of Tours, in a brief
synodal letter which still exists.2 There were present the
bishops already named, Eustochius, Leo, and Victorius, and
besides these perhaps some others, as is indicated in the
Codex Remensis, which adds to the subscription of the synodal
epistle these words : el ceteri qui adfuerunt episcopi sub-
scripserunt?
Another Gallican Synod was held in the sacristy of the
church of Aries on New Year's Day, probably in the year
455 (Concilium Arelatense, iii.). This Synod was occasioned
by a quarrel which had broken out between the convent of
Le'rins,4 at the head of which stood Abbot Faustus, after-
wards, as leader of the semi-Pelagians, the celebrated bishop
of Riez, and Bishop Theodore of Frejus, in whose diocese
Lerins was situated. The question arose with reference to
their mutual rights, and the contention had become so violent
that it had excited great animosity. To put an end to the
dispute, the Metropolitan, Ravennius of Aries, summoned
this Synod, by means of which peace was brought about, and
1 Mansi, t. vii. pp. 899 and 903.
2 Mansi, t. vii. p. 906 ; Gallia Christ, t. ii. p. 7 ; Sirmond, Condi. Gallice,
t. L p. 119.
8 Mansi, I.e.
4 On this celebrated convent on the island of Lerins, near the French coast,
cf. my treatise on Vincentius Lirinensis in the Tubingen Quartalschr. 1854,
S. 83, and in the Beitrdge zur Kirchengeschichtc, etc., Tubingen 1864,
Bd. i. S. 145 ff.
6 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
Bishop Theodore was counselled to forget and forgive the
injuries which he had received at the hands of Abbot Faustus.
With regard to his rights over Le'rins, he was to retain all
that was possessed by his predecessor Leontius, namely,
that all clerics and servers at the altar should be ordained
by him alone, that the chrism should be consecrated only by
him, the newly-baptized confirmed by him alone, and that
strange clerics from the convent should not be received into
communion, or admitted to any office, without his permission.
The crowd of laymen in the convent, that is, those of the
monks who were not clerics, were to be left to the care of the
abbot, and the bishop was to assume no authority over them,
and, particularly, was not to confer orders upon any of them
without the consent of the abbot.1
We have already seen (vol. iii. p. 294) from the Codex
Encydicus that a good many provincial Synods were held in
the East, in the year 458, for the ratification of the Council
of Chalcedon. To the year 450, however, belongs the great
Synod of Constantinople, which was held by the patriarch of
that place, Gennadius, with eighty other bishops. Of this
Synod we possess a synodal letter subscribed by the collective
members. In the older editions of the Councils these sub-
scriptions are wanting; but after they had been discovered by
Peter Lambecius in an ancient codex, they were transferred
into the Nova collectio conciliorum of Baluze, p. 1452, and
from thence into the collections of Hardouin (ii. p. 783 sqq.)
and Mansi (vii. p. 915 sqq.). From these subscriptions we
also learn the correct number of the bishops who were
present ; whilst in the earlier editions the number was given
as seventy-three instead of eighty. We also gain assistance
from these subscriptions for the determination of the time,
since several of the subscribing bishops were Egyptians who
had been banished by Timothy ^Elurus. They remained in
Constantinople, and in the year 457 subscribed a petition
to the Emperor Leo (Hardouin, t. ii. p. 691 ; Mansi, t. vii.
p. 530). The synodal letter in question, directed to all
metropolitans, and to the Ildiras 'PtafjLrjs in specie, forbids
1 Mansi, t. vii. p. 907 sqq. ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 779 ; Sirraond, Condi. Gallic?
t. i. p. 120. Cf. Remi Ceillier, t. xv. p. 605.
IRISH SYNODS UNDEK PATRICK. 7
the purchase and sale of holy orders, appealing to the well-
known saying of the Lord : Gratis accepistis, gratis date
(Matt. x. 8), and repeating the 2nd canon " of the holy,
great, and (Ecumenical Synod of Chalcedon." Occasion for
the renewal of this prohibition had been given by certain
occurrences in Galatia, and the Synod therefore decided that
buyers and sellers of holy orders alike, whether clergymen
or laymen, whether they were convicted or not, should be
deposed from the ministry of the Church, and smitten with
anathema. In conclusion, all metropolitans are requested to
make this letter known in their provinces.1
SEC. 210. Irish Synods under Patrick.
Two Synods, held by S. Patrick and his suffragan bishops
in Ireland, must be placed shortly after the middle of the
fifth century.2 According to ancient indications, the one
must have been held between the years 450 and 456 ; for
the other, on the contrary, we have no indication of the date,
and the celebrated Irish scholar, Thomas Moore, in his history
of his native land, assigns both to the last years of S. Patrick,3
with the remark that some of the canons ascribed to these
Councils have been recognised as genuine by the most distin-
guished critics, and from their contents must have belonged to
a period when heathenism in Ireland was not yet extinct
(e.g. canon 8 of the first Synod), but that others must be
regarded as of considerably later origin.4 The canons of
these two Irish Synods, together with some other ecclesiastical
ordinances ascribed to S. Patrick, are printed in Mansi, t. vi.
pp. 5 1 3-5 3 8 ; Hardouin, t. i. p. 1 7 9 0 sqq., and Bruns, Bibliotheca
eccles. vol. i. pt. iL p. 301 sqq. In some of these the text is so
defective as to be unintelligible, many words having fallen out
by the injuria temporum. In others it is difficult to discover
the real meaning even where the text is accurate. The
1 Mansi, t. vii. p. 911 sqq.; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 781 sqq.
- The subject of S. Patrick is treated at length by Bishop Greith in his
work, Geschicfite der altirischen Kirche, 1867, S. 95-156.
3 According to some, S. Patrick died in the year 465 ; according to others,
iu the year 493. Cf. Greith, I.e. S. 137.
4 Thomas Moore, History of Ireland, vol. i.
8 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
first Synod had thirty-four, the second thirty-one of these
canons, and they refer to very various points of ecclesias-
tical discipline. The most important of those which are
still intelligible are —
i. Of the First Synod.
Can. 4. Prohibition of derici vagi.
6. Every cleric must wear a tunic, and must not go
without it. His hair must be shaved according to the Roman
fashion, and his wife must be veiled when she goes out of
doors.
7. Every cleric must be present at matins and vespers.
8. If a cleric becomes security for a heathen, he must, in
case of liability, pay for him.
9. A monk and a virgin must not lodge in the same
house, nor travel in the same carriage, nor have much con-
versation with each other.
10. Whoever becomes negligent in the recitation of the
psalms, and allows his hair to grow, shall be excommunicated.
11. Whoever receives an excommunicated cleric, falls
himself under sentence of excommunication.
12. No alms shall be received from an excommunicated
person.
1 3. The Church must receive no alms from a heathen.
14. Whoever kills, or is guilty of unchastity, or has
recourse to a fortune-teller, is liable to penance for a year.
15. Whoever steals must restore the stolen property, and
do penance for twenty-one days on bread and water.
16. On sorcery.
17. A virgin vowed to God must not marry.
18. An excommunicated person must not enter the
church.
19. If a Christian woman leaves her husband and marries
another, she is thereby excommunicated.
23. The sacrifice must not be offered in a church which
is not yet consecrated.
28. A suspended cleric (qui excommunionis fuerit) must
not join in common prayer with his brethren (colleagues).1
1 Of. Kellner, Das Buss-und Strafverfahren gegen Cleriker, Trier 1863, S. 62.
IRISH SYNODS UNDER PATRICK. 9
31. A cleric who kills another (in a quarrel) is thereby
excommunicated.
32. A cleric must not assist a prisoner to escape ; but he
may purchase his release.
33. Clerics who come from Britain without epistolce
formatce shall not discharge any sacred function in Ireland.
34. A deacon (monk) who goes into another parish with-
out a commendatory letter from his abbot, shall not discharge
any sacred function, and must be punished.
iL The Canons of the Second Synod
have a style quite different from those of the first, are not so
simple, copiously quote scriptural phrases, have a more ornate,
ambiguous diction, and in many respects betray a later date.
They are also often difficult to understand. The following
are worthy of special notice : —
Can. 10. Whoever has fallen in an office, shall be
restored without the office. He may retain the title, but not
the function.
12. If a man has not deserved, while alive, that the
sacrifice should be offered for him, of what service can it
be to him after his death ? Cast not that which is holy to
16. He who has not been, in accordance with the apos-
tolic command, appointed bishop by another bishop, must be
condemned and degraded to a place among the laity.1
19. Baptism shall be administered at Easter, Whitsun-
tide, and Epiphany.
22. The holy communion must be received after con-
fession, which must be made specially before Easter. One
who does not then communicate is no believer.
26. An adulteress must return to her first husband.
27. A daughter must be obedient to her father; but the
father must also have regard to the wish of his daughter (in
regard to her betrothal).
28. A second betrothal does not annul the first.
1 This is the meaning of the text according to the punctuation of Bruns.
According to that of Mansi, on the contrary, it would read : " He who has not
been appointed bishop, must be condemned, etc., by another bishop."
10 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
29. Marriages are forbidden in the four (first) degrees of
relationship.
30. Every fiftieth year is a jubilee.
31. All sins are blotted out by baptism. If, however, a
heathen was a Christian in faith some time before his baptism,
and yet fell into sin, he must also do penance as a Christian.1
Mansi has some further canons, which are ascribed to S. Patrick,
without, however, asserting that they were passed by a Synod.
SEC. 211. Synods in Gaul, Rome, Spain, etc., between the
Years 460 and 475.
The festival of St. Martin, called Eeceptio Domni Martini,
i.e. Keception of S. Martin into heaven, gave occasion for the
holding of a Synod of no slight interest at Tours. In order to
celebrate this festival worthily on the llth of November, nine
neighbouring Gallican bishops, some of them from other pro-
vinces, and even some metropolitans among them, had met at
Tours ; and with these a Synod was held by Archbishop
Perpetuus of Tours, who had, about two months earlier,
ascended the throne of S. Martin. This Synod was held on
the 14th or 18th of November 461, and passed thirteen
canons renewing some earlier decrees : —
1. Priests and Levites are exhorted to perpetual chastity,
because they may at any moment be summoned to the dis-
charge of a sacred function (sacrifice, baptism, etc.).
2. The ancient rule, that priests and Levites who continue
in the state of marriage are to be excluded from communion,
shall be softened to this extent, that such clerics shall no
longer be eligible to a higher grade, and shall not be permitted
to offer the holy sacrifice or to assist (as Levites). The com-
munion, however, is to be given to them. Drunkenness among
the clergy must also be punished.
3. Clerics must have no intercourse with strange women,
on penalty of exclusion from the communion.
4. Clerics who venture to marry must not marry widows.
Whoever does so must have the lowest place in clerical service.
1 Mansi, t. vi. pp. 519-522, and t. vii. p. 1187 sqq. The latter are taken from
Wilkins' Concil. Britann. t. i.
SYNODS IN GAUL, ROME, AND SPAIN, ETC. 11
5. A cleric who leaves his office and engages in lay work
or in war must be excommunicated.
6. Anyone who has (carnal) intercourse with virgins
dedicated to God, or leaves the monastic state, must in either
case be excommunicated.
7. No intercourse whatever must be held with murderers
until they have atoned for their crime by confession and penance.
8. Anyone who, after taking the vow of penance (pceni-
tentia = wtum continentice), does, like the dog returning to his
vomit, go back to worldly pleasures, must be excluded from
the communion of the Church, or from intercourse with the
faithful, so that he may the more easily be reformed. Cf.
Kober, Kircheribann, Tub. 1863, S. 58 and 379.
9. A bishop who intrudes into the diocese of another,
must be shut out from the communion of all his brethren.
10. Unlawful ordinations are inoperative,1 unless satis-
faction is made for them (to the bishop whose diocese has
been invaded).
11. A cleric who leaves his church without permission
of his bishop, and resorts to another place, must be shut out
from communion.
12. Clerics are not allowed to travel in other provinces or
cities without the permission of their Sacerdotes (bishops).
13. Clerics who engage in business must make no profit
by it (or take no interest : usuras ne accipiant).
These thirteen canons are subscribed by Perpetuus of
Tours, Victorius of Mans, Leo of Bourges, Eusebius of Nantes,
Amandinus of Chalons, Germanus of Eouen, Athenius of
Kennes, Mansuetus, bis.hop of the Britons (probably Bretons,
Britanny), and Talasius, bishop of Angers. A tenth bishop
of the name of Verandus, whose see is not mentioned, being
blind, was represented by the signature of his presbyter,
Jocundinus.2
In the following year, 462, Pope Hilarius held a Roman
1 By i« irrttum devocamus (sc. ordinationes illicilas) is not meant that they
are invalid in the modern sense, but inoperative through suspension. Cf.
Hergenrb'ther, Photius, etc., Bd. ii. S. 325.
2 Mansi, t. vii. p. 943 sqq. ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 793 sqq. ; Sirmond, Condi.
Gallice, t. i. p. 123 sqq. Cf. Remi Ceillier, I.e. p. 607 ; Tillemont, t. xvi. pp. 399
and 772.
12 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
Synod. Archbishop Eusticus of Narbonne, mentioned before
(p. 580), had consecrated his archdeacon, Hermes, to be
bishop of Bdziers ; and when this city did not accept him, he
recommended him as his own successor in the see of Nar-
bonne. As a matter of fact, Hermes succeeded to this see ;
but Prince Frederick, the brother of Theoderic, king of the
Goths, and others complained of the matter at Eome, and
Pope Hilarius, in consequence, in November 462, requested
Archbishop Leontius of Aries, as primate of Gaul, to furnish
him with information on the subject. His letter to Leontius
(Ep. 7) is in Mansi, t. vii. p. 933. But Bishop Faustus of
Eiez (see above, p. 583) and Auxanius of Aix, bishops of the
province, were already on their way to Eome, as representa-
tives of their colleagues, in order to give the Pope full
information by word of mouth; and, after their arrival,
Hilarius, on the anniversary of his ordination, November 19,
462, held in Eome a largely-attended Synod, consisting of
bishops from various provinces, who confirmed Hermes in the
bishopric of Narbonne, but withdrew from him the metro-
political right of ordaining other bishops, and assigned this
right, during the lifetime of Hermes, to the senior suffragan
bishop of the province. The Synod here evidently adopted a
middle course. The ancient canons had plainly declared as
invalid the appointment by a bishop of his own successor (see
vol. i. p. 488, vol. ii. p. 73); but this severe punishment
was not here in place, because Eusticus of Narbonne had not
appointed Hermes his successor, but had only recommended
him. On the other side, it was demanded by the interests of
free election that even such recommendations should not go
uncensured ; and therefore the Synod felt bound to pronounce
a decree of punishment upon Hermes. It is probable that the
same Synod promulgated also those further ordinances which
were given by Pope Hilarius in the letter in which he informed
the Gallican bishops of the decree in the matter of Hermes.1
These ordinances required that great Councils should be held
annually from different provinces under the presidency of the
archbishop of Aries and at his invitation, but that the most
1 Mansi, t. vii. p. 943 sq. ; Sirmond, Condi. Gallic, t. i. p. 129 sq. Cf.
Remi Ceillier, I.e. p. 614.
SYNODS IN GAUL, ROME, AND SPAIN, ETC. 13
difficult cases should be carried to Eome. They further
decreed that no bishop should travel in a foreign ecclesiastical
province without a letter from his metropolitan ; that no one
should receive a strange cleric without a testimonial from his
bishop, and that no bishop should alienate any Church pro-
perty without the previous knowledge of the Synod.
If Pope Hilarius had in this case decided a Gallican
question in a Eoman Synod, it was not long afterwards that
he recommended that another controversy which had arisen in
Gaul, and had been brought before him, should be examined
at a Gallican Synod. So early as the year 450, Pope Leo
the Great had divided the province of Vienne, so that only
Valence, Tarantaise, Geneva, and Grenoble remained in
Vienne, whilst the remaining bishops were to belong to the
metropolis of Aries.1 Without regard to this, Archbishop
Mamertus of Vienne, the same who introduced the Eogation
processions, consecrated a bishop for the city of Die, which,
in accordance with the ordinance of Leo, belonged to Aries,
and this notwithstanding the protest of the inhabitants of the
city. On the complaint of the Burgundian King Gundiac, to
whom Die and Vienne belonged, Pope Hilarius, on the 10th
of October 463, gave commission to Archbishop Leontius of
Aries to summon a great Council out of various provinces for
the examination of this question, and to inform him of the
result at Kome.2 At the same time he despatched a circular
on the subject to the bishops of the provinces of Vienne,
Lyons, and Narbonne i. and ii.3
In compliance with the papal instructions, Leontius im-
mediately assembled a Synod (certainly at Aries itself) ; and
the Synod despatched one of its members, Bishop Antonius,
to Rome, in order that the Pope might have more accurate
intelligence. The Acts of this Synod are completely lost, and
all that we know of it comes from the answer which the Pope
sent to the twenty (with Antonius twenty-one) bishops who
had come together (Feb. 24, 464). In this letter he says
1 Leonis JEp. 66, ad episcop. Metrop. ArelaJt. ed. Bailer, t. i. p. 988 sq. ; also
in Mansi, t. vi. p. 76. Of. Wiltsch, Kirchl. Statistic, Bd. i. S. 98.
8 Mansi, t. vii. p. 936 ; Sirmond, I.e. p. 131.
3 Mansi, t. vii. p. 937 ; Sirmond, I.e. p. 134.
14 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
— That it has already been decreed by the imperial laws, that
the decisions which the papal see thought necessary for the
bounding of dioceses, must be received with reverence and
accurately observed,1 that therefore Mamertus of Vienne and
the bishop of Die, ordained by him, had deserved to be
deposed, but that the Pope desired to show clemency, and
therefore he commissioned Bishop Veranus (one of the
twenty), as papal legate, to explain to Mamertus that,
unless he recognised his proper place and submitted him-
self to the judgment of Leo in regard to the boundaries of
his province, he would be deprived of the four suffragans who
still remained to him. The illegally appointed bishop of Die,
however, was to receive further confirmation from Leontius of
Aries, and thus be made a regular bishop.2
Soon afterwards Pope Hilarius had occasion to intervene
also in the affairs of the Spanish Church. The bishops of
Tarragona, who had assembled at a Synod in the year 464,
with their archbishop, Ascanius of Tarragona, at their head,
had appealed to Eome for two matters : one, because Bishop
Silvanus of Calahorra of the same ecclesiastical province had
arbitrarily ordained several bishops, and even had consecrated
a priest who belonged to another diocese, making him a
bishop by violence in opposition to his will. The Pope was
requested to decide what was to be done with Silvanus and
the bishops consecrated by him.3
The second case had reference to the Church of Barcelona.
Bishop Fundinarius of Barcelona, when on the point of death,
had designated as one whom he wished to be his successor,
Irenseus, whom he had previously appointed as bishop (chor-
episcopus) over another part of his diocese ; and the provincial
Synod at Tarragona had confirmed this designation. The
1 Bower (Hist, of the Popes, vol. iii.) and Walch (Gesch. der Pdpste, S. 109)
lay great stress upon the fact that the Pope himself here allows that the right
to determine the boundaries of dioceses and ecclesiastical provinces was derived
from the Emperor. But Hilary does not say this, but only that even the
Emperors had recognised this papal right, and had enforced the observance of
the papal ordinances on this subject.
2 Mansi, t. vii. p. 938 sqq.; Sirmond, I.e. p. 132 sqq.
3 Mansi, t. vii. p. 924 sq. ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 787 ; Gams, Kirchengesch. v.
Spanien, Bd. ii. Thl. i. S. 430 ff.
SYNODS IN GAUL, ROME, AND SPAIN, ETC. 15
bishops of the Synod wished for the expression of the assent
of Rome also to this arrangement, and requested this in
writing, with the remark that similar cases had often occurred
with them.1
Pope Hilarius, in November 465, again on the anniversary
of his consecration, held a larger Synod, consisting of forty-
eight bishops, in the basilica of Santa Maggiore, called also the
Liberian basilica, in Rome. This Synod drew up five canons : —
1. In regard to ordinations, the prescriptions of the divine
law and the definitions of Nicaea must be strictly observed.
2. Whoever marries one who is not a virgin, or marries a
second time, must not be raised to the higher grades of the
ministry.
3. The same rule shall apply to the unlearned, the maimed,
and those who have done penance. Whoever has ordained
such, shall declare his act undone (factum suum dissolved).
4. Every bishop must condemn anything uncanonical
done by himself or his predecessors ; in which case he shall
be treated with clemency. Whoever, on the contrary, is
obstinate, and refuses to undo what is wrong, must be punished.
All present gave, by acclamation, loud approval to this canon.
5. Many believe that in Spain a bishopric might be
inherited like any other office. Many bishops of that
country, when on the point of death, designate their suc-
cessors, so that no elections take place. This is not allowed.
Compare above, p. 12.
For the more accurate information of the members of the
Synod, Hilarius had the two letters read at once, which he
had received from the bishops of the ecclesiastical province of
Tarragona on the two matters under dispute, namely — (1)
the succession to the see of Barcelona, and (2) the irregular
ordinations which Silvanus had held. The bishops present
gave their judgment, partly by individual votes, and partly
by general acclamation, to the effect that neither of these
things should have occurred, and expressed their full ap-
proval of the canons which had been drawn up.2
1 Mansi, t. vii. pp. 962 and 926 ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 801 ; Gams, I.e.
- Mansi, t. vii. pp. 959-964; Hardouin, t. ii. pp. 799-802 ; Cf. Remi Ceillier,
I.e. p. 616 ; Tillemont, Aftmoires, etc. t. xvi. pp. 46 and 737.
16 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
In consequence of the decree of this Roman Synod,
Hilarius sent a letter to the bishops of the province of Tarra-
gona, in which the following three leading propositions were
laid down :—
1. That Ascanius was not for the future to ordain any
bishop in the province without the assent of the metropolitan.
2. That Irenseus must at once give up the bishopric of
Barcelona, and the clergy there elect another bishop. If
Irenseus refused, he should lose also the other bishopric
which he held.
3. That the bishops irregularly appointed by Silvanus
must be deposed, together with their consecrator ; yet that the
Pope would, in his clemency, recognise them, on condition
that two bishops did not come into one city, and that they
were not bigami, or uneducated, or maimed, or had .previously
done penance.1
In the same year, 465, a Synod was held at Vennes or
Vannes (Venetia) in Britanny (Concilium Veneticum), when
Paternus was ordained bishop of this city by the Metropolitan
Perpetuus of Tours (see p. 10). There were six bishops
present, and these published a synodal letter, still extant, to
their colleagues, Victorius of le Mans and Talasius of Angers,
in which they put forth sixteen canons, most of them only
repeating earlier ordinances : —
1. Murderers and false witnesses are to be excluded
from communion.
2. Those who leave their wives on account of unchastity,
and without proof of the adultery marry others, are to be
excluded from communion. (If a man repudiated his wife
because of adultery and married another, this was disapproved
of, yet was not visited with ecclesiastical penance by the
Synod of Aries, A.D. 314 (cf. vol. i. p. 189).)
3. Penitents who have again interrupted their public
penance, and have returned to their former aberrations, and
to a worldly life, are not only to be shut out from the recep-
tion of the sacraments of the Lord (a communione domini-
corum sacramentorum), but also from intercourse with the
faithful (a conviviis fidelium).
1 Mansi, t. vii. p. 927 sqq. ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 788.
SYNODS IN GAUL, ROME, AND SPAIN, ETC. 17
4. Virgins who, after having dedicated themselves to God,
and on this promise have been ordained, fall away (in adulterio
deprehensce, inasmuch as they, being brides of the Lord, in
every act of unchastity, commit adultery), shall, with the
partners of their sin, be shut out from communion.
5. Clerics must not travel without a testimonial from
their bishop.
6. The same with monks. If they disobey, they are to-
be beaten.
7. Monks must not separate from their community and
inhabit separate cells, unless with the permission of the
abbot, when they have been proved, or are sick, so that they
may be dispensed from the stringency of their rule. But even
in this case their separate cells must be within the walls of
the monastery, and they must remain under the supervision
of the abbot.
8. Abbots are not to have several monasteries or dwell-
ings ; yet in case of hostile assaults (from danger in war)
they may have a residence outside of their monastery in a
walled town.
9. Clerics must not bring their cases before the secular
tribunals. (Cf. Kober, Kircheribann, etc., S. 235.)
1 0. A bishop must not raise a cleric from another diocese
to higher ecclesiastical dignities.
11. Priests, deacons, subdeacons, and all those who are
themselves forbidden to marry, must not be present at the
marriages of others, nor yet in companies where love
songs are sung and indecent gestures are used at
dances, etc.
12. Clerics are not to eat with Jews.
13. They are particularly to keep themselves from
drunkenness. A cleric who has been intoxicated must,
according as his ordo allows, either be excluded from com-
munion for thirty days, or receive corporal chastisement
14. A cleric in the city who is absent from matins
without sufficient excuse on account of sickness, must be
excluded from communion for seven days.
15. In the province there shall be one ritual and one
and the same kind of singing.
IV. 2
1 8 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
1 6. The sortcs satictorum and similar ways of searching
into the future are forbidden.1 Clerics who have recourse to
them are to be excommunicated.2
A Synod was held at Chalons sur Saone (Cdbillonurn)
about the year 470, concerning which we receive the follow-
ing information from a letter of a celebrated Church writer
of the period, Sidonius Apollinaris, to Domnulus. When,
-after the death of Bishop Paulus of Chalons, the Metropolitan
Patiens of Lyons, with Euphronius of Autun and several
others of his suffragans, had come into that city in order
to hold a Council and to ordain a new bishop, they found
several parties there, of which each one, from selfish reasons,
wished to elect a different bishop. In order to put an end
to this party action, the metropolitan, after previous con-
sultation with his bishops, laid hold of the priest and
former Archdeacon John, and immediately consecrated him
bishop, without his having the least warning of it. All
good men expressed approval, and the wicked were quite
confounded, and did not venture to raise any objection
to one so universally known for his uprightness as
John.3
A Synod was held at Antioch, A.D. 471, and at this the
intruded Monophysite Patriarch Peter Fullo (see above vol.
iii p. 451) was deposed. Julian was elected in his stead,
and Peter was banished by the Emperor Leo. This is shown
in considerable detail by Pagi, to whose discussion for short-
ness we may refer the reader.4
1 The sortes sanctorum (sc. bibliorum) consisted in opening the Bible (or the
works of the Fathers of the Church) and taking the first verse that the eye lighted
tipon as an answer to the question which one had in petto. It was a superstition
that had come over from heathenism, since the Greeks and Romans, in order to
discover the future, opened Homer or Virgil at random and regarded the first
verse that presented itself as an oracle. Cf. the art. " Sortilegium " in Wetzer
and Welte's Kirchenlexicon.
2 Mansi, t. vii. p. 951 sqq. ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 795 sqq. ; Sirmond, Concilia
Gallise, t. i. p. 137 sqq. Cf. Eemi Ceillier, I.e. p. 609 ; Tillemont, I.e. p.
401 sq.
3 Sidon. Apoll. lib. iv. ep. 25 in the JBiblioth. Max. PP., Lugd. t. vi. p. 1100,
reproduced by Mansi, t. vii. p. 998, and in Sirmond, Concilia Gallis, t. i. p. 141.
4 Pagi, Criiica in Annales Baronii, ad. ann. 471, ri. 3-7 incl. Cf. Mansi,
t. vii. p. 999.
SYNODS IN GAUL, ROME, AND SPAIN, ETC. 19
The above-named Sidonius Apollinaris gives us informa-
tion of another Synod which was held, A.D. 4 7 2, in Bourges.
The bishop of this metropolis was dead, and the suffragans
assembled for the consecration of his successor (Concilium
JBituricense). Among the suffragan sees of the metropolis of
Bourges was that of Clermont in Auvergne, which had been
occupied since A.D. 471 by Sidonius Apollinaris. Although
the youngest among his colleagues, he seems, however, as the
most able, to have had the chief management of the whole
matter. He sent invitations, in two letters which are still
extant, to the Metropolitan Agraecius of Sens, and Bishop
Euphronius of Autun, although they belonged to other pro-
vinces, requesting them to come to the help of the orphaned
see of Bourges and assist in having it reoccupied, since the
people were split into a number of parties, and under the
influence of bribery were even inclining to Arianism. In fact,
Agrsecius came to Bourges, but even his presence did not
avail to reconcile the parties, and at last they left the election
of the new bishop to Sidonius Apollinaris. He delivered a
fine discourse to the people assembled, designating Simplicius,
whose life he briefly sketched, as the worthiest for the
position, and solemnly proclaiming him as metropolitan of
Bourges.1
About the same time, between A.D. 471 and 475, a
Synod was held by Archbishop Mamertus of Vienne, already
mentioned, in his episcopal city, in order to obtain the con-
currence of his colleagues in the use of the processional
litanies of intercession and fasts which he had instituted on
the three days preceding Ascension Day, on account of earth-
quakes, thunderbolts, and other calamities. He had also
invited the celebrated Archbishop Remigius of Reims to
the Synod ; but the latter excused himself on account
of his great age, and sent the priest Vedastus as his
representative.2
1 Sidon. Apoll. lib. vii. ep. 5, 8, and 9 (in the last letter Sidonius gives his
•discourse mentioned above) in the Biblioth. Max. PP., Lugd. t. vi. pp. 1109 and
1111 ; also printed in Mansi, t. vii. p. 999, and in Sirmond, Concilia Gallis,
t. i. p. 142 sqq.
- Mansi, t. vii. p. 1006 ; Tillemont, t. xvi. p. 112 j Histoire litttr. de la
France, t. ii. p. 442.
20 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
SEC. 212. Synods at Aries on the Doctrine of Grace
in the Years 475-480.
Two other Galilean Synods at Aries and Lyons, between
475 and 480, were occasioned by the Galilean priest Lucidus,
the first who was known as a Predestinarian.1 Prosper
Tiro indeed says in his Chronicle that, in the twenty-third
year of the Emperor Honorius, that is, A.D. 417, the sect of
the Predestinarians arose through a misunderstanding of the
writings of Augustine on predestination ; and many have
followed him in this.2 On the other hand, the learned
Cardinal Noris (Hist. Pelagiana, lib. ii. c. 15, p. 178 sqq. ed.
Patav. 1677) showed that this could not possibly be correct,
that in the time of Prosper there were as yet no Predestin-
arians, and that only the Semipelagians had maliciously
reproached the true Augustinians with predestinationism.
Not until the second half of the fifth century, he argued,
were genuine Predestinarians to be found,' and these mostly
uneducated and unimportant people, who had allowed them-
selves to be urged on, by the sophistical objections of the
Semipelagians, from their original Augustinian point of view
to an extreme predestinationism.
Among these Noris numbers especially the priest Lucidus
and a certain Monimus from Africa, who maintained that a
portion of mankind was predestined by God to sin. On this
point he was opposed by S. Fulgentius of Euspe. The latter
mentions that several others had denied human liberty, and
ascribed all to grace (see Noris, I.e. p. 184). Such was also
the opinion of Lucidus. Unfortunately we know very little
of him or of the two Gallican Synods who sat in judgment
upon him, and this little only from Faustus of Eiez, who
himself was not orthodox on the doctrine of grace, and, in
opposition to Lucidus, was entangled in Semipelagian error.
From a letter of Faustus to Lucidus we learn that the
1 Mangin, in his work, Veterum Auctorum, qui ix. Seculo de prssdestinatione
ct gratia scripserunt, etc., Paris 1650, t. ii. p. 165, maintains that this Synod of
Aries, as well as that of Lyons (see at the end of this section) were invented by
the Semipelagians.
3 In the Biblioth. Max. PP., Lugd. t. viii. p. 201.
SYNODS AT ARLES, 475-480. 21
former had already repeatedly by word of mouth warned the
other of his error, but in vain. This letter, however, was
written about the time when the Metropolitan Leontius of
Aries convoked in his episcopal city a great Synod of thirty
bishops, among them several metropolitans, about the year
475, in order to repudiate the predestinarian heresy.
Faustus here wrote to Lucidus, representing that, as the
bishops were already thinking of his suspension, he would,
from love to him, once more endeavour by writing to bring
him back from his error, although he thought there was little
hope of this. He would quite briefly specify the points which
must be recognised by Lucidus. He must (in general) always
unite with the grace of God the agency of the baptized man,
and condemn whoever excluded the co-operation of man and
taught mere predestination on the one hand, just as he must
condemn Pelagius on the other. Thus he must anathematise
(1) anyone who, like Pelagius, denies original or hereditary
sin and the necessity of grace ; (2) anyone who maintains
that the baptized and orthodox Christian, who becomes a
sinner, is lost through Adam and original sin ; 1 (3) anyone
who maintains that it is through the foreknowledge of God
that a man is thrust down to death (of the soul) ; (4) any-
one who maintains that whosoever is lost (i.e. of the baptized,
and of the heathen those who could have believed) had not
received the grace by which he could have laid hold of salva-
tion ; (5) anyone who should say that a vessel of dishonour
could not raise itself so as to become a vessel of honour ;
(6) anyone who should say that Christ did not die for all
men, and did not will that all men should be saved.
If Lucidus would come of his own accord to Faustus,
the latter said, or were summoned by the bishops, he would
lay before him at length the proofs for the orthodox doctrine.
He adds : " We, however, maintain that whoever is lost by
his own fault, could have obtained salvation through grace if
he had co-operated with it ; and that, on the other side, who-
soever through grace attains, by means of his own co-opera-
1 Faustus, on the contrary, would say that "as original sin is forgiven in
baptism, a sinful Christian must fail, not through Adam and original sin, but
through misuse of his liberty."
22 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
tion, to the goal of perfection, might also, through his negli-
gence and his own fault, have fallen and been lost. We yet
exclude all personal pride, since we maintain that we receive
all from the hand of God as a gift, not as a reward." He
intimates that Lucidus should express himself on these points
as soon as possible, and that if he did not send back a sub-
scription to the contents of his letter, he should have to
appear publicly before the Synod as his accuser.1
In one manuscript this letter is subscribed by Faustus
alone, in another by ten other bishops, so that we may
improve upon the supposition of Noris (I.e. p. 185) by the
suggestion, that Faustus may have sent it first from himself,
and then, in order to give greater importance to the matter,
may have had a second copy signed by ten of his colleagues,
who perhaps had assembled at a preliminary Synod, held in
preparation for the appointed greater Council, and sent it to
Lucidus. The latter, seeing the seriousness of the matter,
subscribed, as Faustus had wished, and this subscription of
his is still found appended to the letter in question.2
Besides this, Lucidus addressed a letter to the thirty
bishops assembled at Aries,3 in which he says that the Synod
had drawn up certain statuta predicandi (forms of teaching),
and that Lucidus, in accordance with these, now condemned
(1) the opinion, that the work of human obedience towards
God (i.e. human co-operation) must not be united with divine
grace ; and also (2) the assertion, that through the fall of the
first man freewill had been entirely annihilated ; (3) the
assertion, that Christ did not die for the salvation of all men ;
(4) the assertion, that the foreknowledge of God powerfully
constrains men to spiritual death, and that whoever perishes
is lost with (cum) the will of God ; (5) the assertion, that
whoever sins after valid baptism, dies in Adam (i.e. is not lost
in consequence of his own sinful actions ; see above) ; (6) the
assertion, that some are destined (deputati) to death, and
1 Mansi, t. vii. p. 1007 sqq. ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 806 sqq.; Sirmond, Concilia
Gallise, t. i. p. 147 sqq.
3 Mansi, I.e. p. 1010 ; Hardouin, I.e. p. 808 ; Sirmond, I.e. p. 150.
3 Cellotius was of opinion that this letter of Lucidus was addressed to the
somewhat later Synod of Lyons ; Noris, on the contrary (I.e. p. 1866), thinks
it more probable that it was addressed to the earlier Synod at Aries.
SYNODS AT AKLES, 475-480. 23
others predestinated (prcedestinati) to life ; (7) the assertion,
that from Adam to Christ no heathen has obtained salvation
through the gratia prima of God, that is, through the natural
law, hoping in the coming of Christ, inasmuch as all had lost
freewill in their first parents ; (8) the assertion, that the
patriarchs and prophets and saints had been in Paradise
even before the time of redemption. All these propositions,
he said, he condemned as impious and sacrilegious, but the
doctrine of grace he held fast, in such a sense as not to
exclude human effort ; and he maintained that the freewill of
man was not annihilated, but only weakened and diminished
(attenitatam et infirmatam) ; further, that one who was in a
state of salvation should yet be conscious of the danger of
falling, and, on the other side, that one who was lost might
have obtained salvation. He said he had formerly maintained
that Christ had come into the world only for the sake of
those of whom He knew beforehand that they would believe ;
but that now he acknowledged that Christ had also come for
the sake of those who are lost, and that they are lost
eo nolente. Finally, he said, he maintained that some had
obtained salvation through the law of grace, others through
the law of Moses, others again through the law of nature,
which God had written in the hearts of all, in hope of the
coming of Christ ; but that from the beginning of the world,
on account of our union with our first parents, no one had
been saved in any other manner than through the mediation
of the holy blood of Christ.1
We learn further from Faustus of Eiez that Archbishop
Leontius, in agreement with the Synod of Aries, commissioned
him to write out at full length in a book all that was trans-
acted at the Synod on the doctrine of grace and in opposition
to the Predestinarians. In fulfilment of this commission,
Faustus composed his two books, de gratia Dei et humance
mentis libero arbitrio, in the prologue to which, addressed to
Leontius, he sets forth the matter just referred to ; 2 but his
1 Mansi, t vii. p. 1010 ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 809 ; Sirmond, Concilia Gallia,
t. i. p. 150 sq.
- Noris, I.e. p. 177 ; Mansi, t. vii. p. 1007 ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 805 ;
Sirmond, I.e. p. 147 sq.
24 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
work is composed in a thoroughly Semipelagian sense, and
under the show of combating predestinarianism, he carries on
a continuous warfare against Augustine. At the end of the
prologue he further states : " Because at the end of the Synod
of Aries, and after all had subscribed its decrees, new errors
emerged (probably new predestinarian views), it was ordered
by a fresh Synod at Lyons that something should be added to
the treatise de gratia Dei," etc.
We have no further particulars of this Lugdunense Con-
cilium, unless we are to refer to this Synod the note which is
found in some old conciliar manuscripts to this effect : The
holy Archbishop Patiens of Lyons laid before this Synod a
book, De ecclesiasticis dogmatibus.1 It is supposed that this
book was a treatise of Gennadius which bears this
very title; and if so, then the Semipelagian tendency,
represented by the dominating intellect of Faustus, pre-
vailed no less at the Synod of Lyons than at the Synod
of Aries.
SEC. 213. Synods on the Affairs of the Greek and Oriental
Churches.
We learn from the Church History of Evagrius 2 that, in
the year 475 or 477, a Synod had been held at Ephesus
under the presidency of the Monophysite Patriarch Timothy
^lurus of Alexandria (see vol. iii. p. 450). The Emperor
Basilicus had, in a special decree, declared the fourth (Ecu-
menical Synod of Chalcedon invalid, and deprived the
patriarchal see of Constantinople of the prerogative which had
been assigned to it at Chalcedon (see vol. iii. p. 411),
because Bishop Acacius had refused to subscribe this decree.
The Emperor soon saw himself under the necessity of repeal-
ing this decree and becoming reconciled with Acacius. This
gave occasion to Timothy JElurus of Alexandria to hold a
Synod at Ephesus in order to meet this change of circum-
stances. Dominated by Timothy, the bishops, although
1 Mansi, I.e. p. 1011 ; Hardouin, I.e. p. 810 ; Sinnond, I.e. p. 152 ; Noris,
I.e. p. 177 ; Remi Ceillier, I.e. p. 620.
2 Book iii. cc. 5 and 6. Cf. the notes of Valesius on the passage.
SYNODS ON THE GREEK AND ORIENTAL CHURCHES. 25
many of them were not Monophysites,1 nevertheless voted
a memorial to the Emperor, requesting that he would con-
tinue the old decree and the disallowance of the Council of
Chalcedon. They also replaced in his bishopric the dispos-
sessed Bishop Paul of Ephesus, declared the privileges of the
patriarchate of Constantinople abolished, restored to the see
of Ephesus the exarchal rights which it formerly possessed
(see vol. iii. p. 375), and pronounced the deposition of
Acacius of Constantinople.2 It is, however, a mistake to
suppose that this Synod had also confirmed Eutychianism.
This would not have been done even by Timothy ^lurus ;
for, when the Eutychian monks came to him and hoped for
his support, he expressed himself decisively in opposition to
the tenets of Eutychianism, saying that " the flesh of Christ
(i.e. His humanity) was essentially the same as ours." 3
Evagrius informs us (lib. iii. c. 6) that Timothy ^Elurus
returned to Alexandria after the ending of this Ephesian
Synod, in order here also to secure the rejection of the
Council of Chalcedon ; and the Libellus Synodicus adds that at
Alexandria, too, he got up a Synod, and thereby attained the
end mentioned.4 The same Synodieon speaks further of a
Council which was assembled at Cyrus in Syria, in the year
478 (not 482, as Hardouin erroneously supposed), by John,
bishop of that place. At this Synod an anathema was pro-
nounced on Peter Fullo, the Mouophysite intruder into the
see of Antioch.5
About the same time, after the overthrow of the Emperor
Basilicus, Peter Fullo was deposed at an Antiochene Synod
also, and John of Apamea was raised to the throne of Antioch.
Not long before Peter Fullo himself had raised this John of
Apamea to the episcopate. As, however, the citizens of this
1 This is shown by Mansi, I.e. p. 1015.
2Mansi, t. vii. p. 1013-1016. Cf. the remark of Valesius in Evagrius, Hist.
Eccl. lib. iii. c. 5.
3 Mansi, I.e. p. 1015.
4 In Hardouin, t. v. p. 1526 ; Mansi, t. vii. pp. 1175 and 1018. Hardouin
gives in the margin the incorrect date 481. Timothy ^lurus had died in 477.
On the Libellus Synodicus, cf. vol. i. p. 84.
5 Mansi, I.e. pp. 1018 and 1175 ; Hardouin, t. v. p. 1527. On Peter Fullo,
cf. vol. iii.' sec. 208.
26 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
city would not receive him, he had returned to Antioch, joined
the party of opposition, and supplanted his former consecrator.
But he too, after three months, was in his turn deposed by a
new Synod held at Antioch, which confirmed the Council of
Chalcedon, and a pious man, of the name of Stephen, was
raised to the throne of that city. In a synodal letter which
he immediately afterwards addressed to the Patriarch Acacius
of Constantinople, he informed him of his consecration and
the deposition of both Peter Fullo and John of Apamea.1
Hereupon Acacius, in the year 478, held a o-woSo? eV&^/zoOo-a
in Constantinople, at which these proceedings were confirmed,
and Peter Fullo was anathematised, especially because he had
added to the Trisagion the words, " who was crucified for us,"
by which he intended to imply that the triune God had
undergone the death of the cross (see vol. iii. sec. 208).
In reference to this Synod, we possess also a letter, dis-
covered by Lucas Holstenius, written by Pope Simplicius to
Acacius of Constantinople, and also the synodal letter to Peter
Fullo, drawn up by Acacius,2 which belongs not to the year
483, as was previously supposed, but to the year 478, as
Mansi, following the lead of Pagi, has shown (I.e. p. 1019).
Mansi has also pointed out that, very soon afterwards, Pope
Simplicius also held a Synod at Rome, and in like manner
pronounced anathemas on Peter Fullo, John of Apamea, and
Paul (of Ephesus). Of this Roman Synod we possess still two
letters addressed to Peter Fullo,3 which have been, in the
Collections of the Councils since Binius, attributed erroneously
to Pope Felix m. and his Synod of the year 485, but which,
in fact, belong to Pope Simplicius and his Synod, as has been
shown by Pagi (ad ann. 478, n. 9 sqq.).
As we saw, Stephen was raised to the throne of Antioch
in the year 478. When he died in the year 4 8 14 another
Stephen was appointed his successor by a new Antiochene
1 Mansi, t. vii. pp. 1018 and 1175 ; Hardouin, t. v. p. 1527. Compare the
treatise of Valesius, de Petro AntiocJicno, c. 2, in the Appendix to his edition of
the Ecclesiastical History of Evagrius.
2 In Mansi, t. vii. p. 995 sqq. and p. 1121 ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 842.
3 In Mansi, t. vii. p. 1037 sqq. ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 817 sqq.
4 In opposition to Tillemont (t. xvi. p. 316) and Remi Ceillier (p. 621), I
follow here the chronology of Pagi, ad ann. 479, n. 2, and ad ann. 482, n. 2.
SYNODS ON THE GREEK AND ORIENTAL CHURCHES. 27
Synod. The adherents of Peter Fullo, however, speedily
accused him of Nestorianism, and succeeded in getting the
Emperor to recommend that the accusation should be inquired
into at a Synod. This was done at a Council at Laodicea, of
which we have information from the Libellus Synodicus and
Theophanes, with the addition that Stephen's orthodoxy was
vindicated, and his elevation to the throne of Antioch confirmed.
Discontented with this decision, his enemies one day laid hold
of Bishop Stephen in the baptistery of S. Barlaam the
Martyr, and put him to death with sharp-pointed reeds.1 In
punishment, Theophanes further tells us, the Emperor Zeno
deprived the Antiochenes of the right to elect another bishop,
and conferred the power of doing so for this time upon the
Patriarch Acacius, who immediately consecrated Calendion as
bishop of Antioch, at Constantinople.2 Knowing nothing of
this, the Oriental bishops, on the other hand, elected John
Codonatus to be patriarch of Antioch ; but Calendion at once
took possession of the see, and secured his recognition at an
Antiochene Synod in the year 482, as well as with Pope
Simplicius, whilst Codonatus subsequently obtained the see of
Tyre. Theophanes professes to know that Calendion himself
consecrated Codonatus for Tyre ; but we see clearly from the
letters of Pope Felix that this John Codonatus is identical
with the John of Apamea whom we know, and that
Acacius of Constantinople gave him the see of Tyre as
indemnity, and that the Pope declared the transaction null
and void.3
In the meantime Bishop Timothy Salophaciolus of Alex-
andria (see vol. iii. sec. 208) had also died, and John surnamed
Talaja or Tabennesiota (Tabennesian monk of the monastery of
Canopus), up to this time treasurer of the Church of Alex-
andria, was elected to succeed him. In accordance with
custom, in union with the Alexandrian Synod assembled
around him, he immediately sent communications in writing
to Pope Simplicius and to Calendion of Antioch, but not to
1 Theophanes, Chronographia, ad ann. 5793, ed. Bonn, t. i. p. 199.
2 Pagi, ad ann. 482, n. 2-11.
3 Theophanes, I.e. ; Pagi, ad ann. 482, n. 12 ; Mansi, t. vii. pp. 1023, 1054
sqq. 1140.
28 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
Acacius of Constantinople, perhaps because he had formerly
cherished a grudge against him. He had formerly spent a
considerable time at Constantinople as envoy from his bishop.
Acacius, irritated by this, persuaded the Emperor Zeno that
John was not a fit person for the important see of Alexandria,
since he had given to the previous bishop the advice that he
should enter the name of Dioscurus in the diptychs of the
Church. Moreover, he said, he was perjured, for he had,
during his residence at Constantinople, taken an oath that he
would not seek for the bishopric. Much more suitable than
John was Peter Mongus (see vol. iii. sec. 308), who had
formally been elected by the Monophysites, after the death of
Timothy ^Elurus, as bishop of Alexandria, but had been
expelled by the Emperor Zenb. The reason that Acacius now
recommended this man, and that the Emperor acted upon his
advice, arose from the fact that the Emperor had just pro-
mulgated his infamous Henoticon under the advice of Acacius
(A.D. 482), and Peter Mongus was fully disposed to assist in
carrying it through, that is, to labour for a union between
the Orthodox and Monophysites, on the ground of this
formula.
The Emperor Zeno immediately wrote to Pope Simplicius
that John was, for the reasons assigned, unworthy of the see
of Alexandria, and that Peter Mongus was much better quali-
fied to restore peace in the churches of that region. On the one
side, the Pope allowed himself to be persuaded not at once to
recognise John formally, but on the other side he at the same
time openly communicated to the Emperor his opinion that
Peter Mongus was not at all the right man, and that he was
still under suspicion of heresy.1 Zeno paid no regard to
this, and commanded the Dux JEgypti to expel John, and to
induct Peter Mongus on condition that he accepted the
Henoticon and sent synodal letters to Acacius, Simplicius of
Rome, and the other archbishops. This was done, and Acacius
immediately recognised Mongus, and introduced his name into
the diptychs of his church. The Libellus Synodicus states that
Peter Mongus thereupon immediately held a Synod in Alex-
1 Compare his letters to Acacius and to the Emperor in Mansi, t. vii. pp. 992
and 994.
SYNODS ON THE GREEK AND ORIENTAL CHURCHES. 29
andria, and, in communion with it, pronounced anathema on
the Council of Chalcedon.1
The banished John Talaja, following the advice of Calen-
dion of Antioch, betook himself in person to Rome, in order
to lay his cause before the Pope, and to invoke the protection
of the Eoman see. He arrived at the beginning of the year
483, and induced the Pope to write two other letters on his
account to Acacius, in addition to the one which he had
already exchanged with him on the same subject. He also
drew up a complete letter of accusation against Acacius for
presentation to the Pope.2 Simplicius, however, died on the
2nd of March 483, and was succeeded by Felix II. or in.
John Talaja now immediately brought his complaint and his
memorial before the new Pope. Felix thought it best, as
Acacius had not yet answered the most recent letters of
Siniplicius, to send two envoys, Bishops Vitalis and Misenus,
together with the Defensor3 Felix, to the Emperor Zeno and
to Acacius, to confirm them in their adhesion to the Council
of Chalcedon, and to induce them to expel Peter Mongus, and
replace John Talaja in his see.4 At the same time, he gave
the legates a libellus citationis to Acacius,5 stating that Acacius
must give an answer in Rome to the accusations of Talaja.
There was also a letter addressed to the Emperor, in which
the Pope acquainted him with the communication, and
renewed the accusations against Peter Mongus.6 It is the
ordinary opinion that Pope Felix at the same time held a
Synod in Rome, and in its name despatched the letters to the
Emperor and Acacius ; but Pagi has shown that the grounds
of this opinion are contestable.
At a later date, Felix sent to his legates two other letters,
1 Mansi, t. vii. pp. 1023 and 1178 ; Hardouin, t. v. p. 1527 ; Pagi, ad ann.
482, n. 19 sqq.
- Cf. Liberati, Breviar. c. 18, in Galland, Biblioth. PP. t. xii. p. 150 ; Pagi,
ad ann. 483, n. 4.
3 [For the nature of this office, see the Diet, of CJirist. Antiq. i. 542.]
4 The letters of Pope Felix to both are given by Mansi, t. vii. pp. 1028 and
1031, and Hardouin, t. ii. pp. 811 and 814.
8 Mansi, I.e. p. 1108 ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 829.
• In Mansi, t. vii. p. 1108 ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 830. Cf. Evagrius, Hist.
Ecd. iii. 18 ; Breviculus Historic Eutych. ed. Sirmond, p. 122 ; Liberati,
Breviar. c. 18, in Galland, I.e. p. 150 ; Pagi, ad ann. 483, n. 4 and 5.
30 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
which are now lost, for the Emperor and Acacius, and recom-
mended the envoys to undertake nothing without having
previous consultation with Cyril, the abbot of the Akoimetae
at Constantinople.1 When, however, the two legates, Vitalis
and Misenus, arrived at Abydos on the Hellespont — the
Defensor Felix, on account of illness, had to depart later —
they were arrested by command of the Emperor, cast into
prison, robbed of their papers, and even threatened with
death unless they would consent to enter into Church com-
munion with Acacius and Mongus. In case of their acqui-
escence, on the other hand, presents and favours were held
out to them, and thus they were imposed upon, and gave in.
They were now brought to Constantinople, set at liberty, and
treated with the greatest distinction, until, disregarding all
the warnings of the orthodox, they went so far as to take part
in a solemn Church service held by Acacius, at which he read
out the name of Mongus from the diptychs, and received the
communion with Mongus' representative. When the Defensor
Felix subsequently arrived at Constantinople, Acacius did not
receive him, and treated him in a hostile manner, because he
would not, like the two legates, hold communion with Peter
Mongus.2
Cyril, abbot of the Akoimetae, immediately sent the
monk Simeon to Home, in order to acquaint the Pope with
what had taken place ; 3 and when the legates returned soon
afterwards, and brought letters from the Emperor, as well as
from Acacius, favouring Peter Mongus, and throwing sus-
picion upon Talaja,4 Pope Felix made immediate arrangements
for a Eoman Synod, which should decide between his legates
and their accusers. In the first place, Vitalis and Misenus
were called upon for their defence, when, besides the monk
Simeon, the priest Silvanus, who had been in Constantinople
at the same time with the legates, appeared as a witness
against them. They were deposed from their episcopal offices,
1 Evagrius, Hist. Ecd. iii. 19.
2 Theophanes, I.e. p. 204 sqq. ; Evagrius, Hist. Ecd. iii. 20 ; Liberati, I.e. ;
Pagi, ad ann. 483, n. 6, and 484, n. 2 and 3.
3 Evagritis, iii. 21.
4 A portion of the imperial letter is preserved by Evagrius, iii. 20.
SYNODS ON THE GREEK AND ORIENTAL CHURCHES. 31
and excluded from the holy communion, and at the same
time the excommunication and anathema on Peter Mongus
was repeated. In a second session the Synod condemned
also Acacius of Constantinople, and declared him unworthy
of his ecclesiastical dignity, and deprived him of Church
communion. A fragment of this sentence is found in the
Breviculus Histories JEutychianistarum,1 and, from this source,
in Mansi,2 besides which we still possess the synodal letter
in which the Pope gave public notice to Acacius of the con-
demnation pronounced upon him.3
The copy of it, which we still possess, gives at the end
the historical information that sixty-seven bishops, besides
Pope Felix, had subscribed. But this certainly refers rather
to the synodal Acts which remained in Home, than to the
synodal letter which was sent to Greece. The latter, in ac-
cordance with the usual practice in regard to such writings,4
was drawn up only in the name of the Pope, on which
account the Greeks brought the objection against the
deposition of Acacius, that it had proceeded merely from
Felix, and not from a Synod. This was evidently incorrect ;
but it might be urged, as Pope Gelasius, in replying to this
objection of the Greeks, in his epistle ad episcopos Dardanice,5
did not merely reply, that " Acacius had been deposed at a
Synod," but rather argued that the Pope had the power to
depose him without a Synod. Baronius (ad ann. 484, n. 21)
attempts to remove this difficulty by the assumption that the
Greeks had complained that an (Ecumenical Synod had not
been held, and that Gelasius had replied to them only in this
sense. Pagi (ad ann. 484, n. 4) rejects this expedient, and
endeavours to find another. The Greeks, he says, only
maintained Acadum non jure damnatum, quod non speciali
synodo videatur fuisse dcjectus,6 that is to say, that he had not
been condemned at a special Synod, called on his account,
1 In Sirmond, p. 123, in the Appendix eodic. Theodos.
- Mansi, I.e. p. 1065.
3 Mansi, I.e. p. 1053 ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 831.
4 See towards the end of this section ; also vol. i. p. 74 ; and Pagi, ad ann.
484, n. 4.
5 Mansi, t. viii. p. 49 sqq. ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 905 sqq.
6 Mansi, t. viii. p. 49.
32 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
but only as it were en passant at that Synod which had met
for another purpose, for the purpose of examining the accusa-
tions against the two legates. For this reason he thinks
that Pope Gelasius, in the letter ad episcopos Dardanice, had in
his eye only the failure to hold a synodus specialis.
However this may be, the papal letter to Acacius is dated
July 28, 484. The ordinary opinion has consequently been
that the first session, whicli dealt with the case of Vitalis and
Misenus, took place only a few days earlier, also in the second
half of July. Pagi, on the other hand (ad ann. 484, n. 9),
makes it probable that one Synod held its first session early
in 484, and that in this a new admonition was sent to
Acacius, — the second which he received from Borne, — and
that as this also was ineffectual, steps were taken in July for
his condemnation.
In the synodal letter to Acacius he was reminded of all
his offences, particularly his violation of the jus gentium in
his treatment of the papal legates. A second letter in this
direction was sent by Felix, on the 1st of August 484, to the
Emperor,1 acquainting him with all that had been done, and
exhorting him to stand by the right. He had to choose
between communion with the Apostle Peter or with Peter
Mongus. At the same time the Pope mentions that he has
sent the Defensor Tutus to Constantinople in order to publish
the sentence against Acacius. A third letter was addressed
to the clergy and laity of Constantinople, in order that all
should be convinced of the necessity and justice of the
sentence pronounced against Acacius.2
In spite of the imperial guard who tried to prevent the
entrance of any unwelcome strangers, the Defensor Tutus
succeeded in reaching Constantinople, where he formed a
union with the monks, and delivered to them the documents
which he had brought with him. They had the courage to
convey to Acacius his sentence of deposition by fixing it to
the door of the church, and thus giving it publication, an
1 That this letter was written a few days after the end of this Synod, and
does not belong to the following Roman Synod, is shown by Pagi, ad ann.
485, n. 5.
2 Mansi, t. vii. pp. 1065, 1067. These two letters are wanting in Hardouin.
SYNODS ON THE GREEK AND ORIENTAL CHURCHES. 33
act which several of them had to expiate with their lives.1
Acacius, however, took so little account of all this, that he
now formally struck the name of the Pope off the diptychs of
his Church, stopped communion with Eome, and in order to
give effect to the Henoticon, he subjected those who were
strictly orthodox to more severe persecution. In particular,
he deposed Calendion of Antioch, and in his place put Peter
Fullo, who had formerly been a Monophysite, and who now
accepted the Henoticon. This gave occasion for a new Eoman
Synod, in October 485, which pronounced the deposition of
this intruder. Two letters are given, as having been addressed
by Pope Felix, in the name of this Synod, to Peter Fullo,2
pointing out his heretical doctrine and his irregular intrusion.
Volesius regarded them as spurious ; but Pagi, on the contrary
(ad ann. 478, n. 9 sqq.), defended their genuineness, and showed
that both proceeded from the Eoman Synod of 478, held under
Pope Simplicius (see near the beginning of this section).
We have, however, a letter of Felix, belonging to this time,
addressed to the Emperor Zeno,3 in which Peter Fullo in
particular is blamed because of the addition to the Trisagion,
" who was crucified for us," and the assertion connected with
it, " one of the Trinity suffered in substantia Deitatis" be-
cause thereby the true and full incarnation of Christ was
detracted from (see above, sec. 213, and vol. iii. sec. 208).
To the same Eoman Synod belongs also the letter ad
clericos et monachos Orientales* According to an ancient codex
this letter is dated October 5, 485,5 and properly is only an
addition to the formal decree of the Synod. The letter, as
the bishops here say, in accordance with the prevailing
custom, was sent forth in the name of the Pope, as proceed-
ing from him. This letter adds further that now, in the
matter of the Church of Antioch, a new Synod has been
assembled at Saint Peter, that is, in S. Peter's Church in
Eome; and at the same time makes mention of the acts of
1 Liberat. Breviar. I.e. p. 150 ; Niceph. Callisti Hist. Ecd. lib. xvi. c. 7 ;
Baron, ad ann. 484, n. 34.
*firid.
s In Mansi, t. vii. p. 1050 ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 827.
4 In Mansi, t. vii. p. 1139 ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 354.
8 Pagi, ad ann. 485, n. 6.
iv. 3
34 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
violence of which Acacius has made himself guilty since his
deposition. From this it is clear that the letter in question
belongs not, as Valesius supposed, to the Synod of the year
484, but to that of the year 485.1 Finally, we also learn
from the subscription of this letter to the Orientals, that this
Synod of the year 485 was visited by more than forty bishops.
In this letter it is mentioned twice that the Pope had
sent the Defensor Tutus to Constantinople with the sentence
of deposition pronounced on Acacius. The manner in which
the Synod speaks of this shows that they were then unaware
how thoroughly Tutus had abused the confidence reposed in
him.2 Later on he had gone so far as to let himself be
corrupted by Acacius, had entered into Church communion
with him, besides betraying the secrets of Eome to him, and
giving up the despatches which he had brought with him.
Naturally Pope Felix received intelligence of this through
his friends at Constantinople, and therefore, at a new Roman
Synod, at what date we are not quite certain, perhaps about
the close of the year 485, he pronounced a sentence of per-
manent deposition on Tutus. This we learn from his letter
ad monachos urbis Constantinop. et Biihyn?
In the year 485, Bishop Quintian also assembled a Synod,
which pronounced the deposition of Peter Fullo. From this
Synod we have a synodal letter of Quintian's to Fullo, with
twelve anathemas appended, namely, those which had been
directed against Monophysitism, Apollinarism, and Samosa-
tenism, particularly also against the addition mentioned to
the Trisagion, and its intention to teach that the triune God
had suffered for us.4 This Synod is mentioned also by the
Libellus Synodicus,5 which, however, speaks of it erroneously as
an Alexandrian Synod, whilst it designates Quintian as
eVtV/eoTro? ' 'Aptcov\iav(av, a city which is mentioned nowhere
else, but which, Pagi thinks, must refer to the patriarchal
see of Antioch (ad ann. 485, n. 14).
1 Cf. Pagi, I.e. n. 7.
8 Cf. the remark of Mansi, t. vii. p. 1170.
3 Mansi, t. vii. p. 1068. Cf. Pagi, ad ann. 485, n. 8, and Mansi, t. vii.
p. 1170.
4 In Mansi, t. vii. p. 1109 sqq. ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 835 sqq.
5 In Mansi, t. vii. p. 1179 ; Hardouin, t. v. p. 1530.
RELIGIOUS CONFERENCE AT CARTHAGE, A.D. 484. 35
Finally, to the year 485 there belong also two Persian
Synods, of which we have received information through
Assemani.1 One of these was held at Seleucia by the
Metropolitan Babmeus, who is called in the Acts Catholicus,
although this title is of somewhat later origin. The other
was held by the Metropolitan Barsumas of Nisibis, a man of
Nestorian tendencies. The latter at his Synod gave per-
mission to priests and monks to marry (even after consecra-
tion, and after putting off their vows), and ordained that no
one should marry his stepmother, or sister-in-law, or should
have two wives at once. Moreover, he and his bishops found
fault with the Catholicus, because he had given leave that
women should enter the baptistery and look on at baptisms,
whereby unchaste occurrences and unallowed marriages had
taken place. The Catholicus, on the other hand, forbade, in
his Synod, the marriage of priests and monks ; and excom-
municated Barsumas, and was in turn excommunicated by him.
SEC. 214. Religious Conference at Carthage, A.D. 484.
In the meantime there was held in Africa, if not a Synod
proper, yet an unusually numerous and important assembly of
bishops. Huneric, king of the Vandals, son and successor of
Geiseric, since his entrance on the government, A.D. 477, had
not ceased to persecute the Catholics, and had endeavoured
by all means of craft and violence to obtain a victory for
Arianism, which he and his people professed. To this end
he sent out, in May 483, a circular letter to Eugenius of
Carthage, and all " Homoousion " bishops, in which he gave
orders that, on the first of February in the next year, they
should be present at Carthage, in order to have a disputation
with his " venerable " bishops on the Homoousion faith, and
to examine whether it were scriptural or not.2
Eugenius declared that he was willing to attend, on con-
dition that the Catholic bishops from the other side of the
Mediterranean, particularly the Church of Rome, should be
1 Biblioth. Oriental, t. iii. pt. ii. p. clxxvii. Reprinted by Mansi, t. vii. p.
1170sqq. Cf. art "Barsumas of Nisibis" in Wetzer and Welte, Kirchenlexicon.
* Mansi, t. vii. p. 1141 ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 857.
36 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
allowed to take part in the disputation, as the controversy would
have reference to the Catholic creed, and not to the special creed
of the African Church.1 He made this stipulation particu-
larly, because the bishops who were not under Vandal rule
could express themselves with much greater freedom than he
and his colleagues who were living under that heavy oppression.
King Huneric made the scornful reply : " When you make me
master of the whole world, then what you want shall be done,"
that is to say, then shall the bishops be summoned from the
whole world. To this Eugenius returned a befitting answer ;
but instead of complying, Huneric did the reverse, and drove
into exile those Orthodox bishops of Africa who were pointed
out to him as peculiarly learned and eloquent.2
At last the first of February arrived, and no fewer than
461 Catholic bishops had appeared at Carthage, as is shown
by the list of them which is still extant.3 Most of them
were from Africa itself ; some were from the islands of Sar-
dinia, Majorca, and Minorica, which belonged to the Vandal
kingdom. Huneric had some of the ablest of the Catholic
bishops separated from the others and arrested, and Bishop
Lsetus of Neptis even killed, in order to strike terror into the
others. The place of meeting was fixed by their opponents ;
but the Catholics immediately selected from their number ten
speakers, so that the Arians should not be able to say that
they were clamoured down by the Catholic bishops by reason
of their majority. There were, however, no real debates. At
the very beginning the Arian Court Bishop Cyrila placed him-
self in the president's chair, and the Catholic bishops in vain
appealed against this, and demanded an impartial president.
When the royal notary gave to Cyrila the title of patriarch,
the Orthodox asked " by whose authority Cyrila had assumed
the title of patriarch " ; and when the Catholic spectators made
a noise at this, they were driven with blows from the place of
1 Mansi, t. vii. p. 1142 ; Hardouin, I.e. ; Victor Vitensis (Victor of Vita), DC
persecutione Afric. lib. ii. in the Biblioth. Max. PP., Lugd. t. viii. p. 682 ; also
in Baron, ad ann. 483, n. 93 sqq.
2 Victor Vitensis, I.e.
a In Mansi, t. vii. 1156 ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 869. Sixteen sees were then
made empty, or the bishops sent into exile, so that the Vandal kingdom counted
447 Catholic bishops.
RELIGIOUS CONFERENCE AT CARTHAGE, A.D. 484. 37
assembly. Eugenius complained of violence ; but, in order to
get at the chief matter in dispute, the Catholic speakers re-
quested Cyrila to open the proceedings, and to lay before them
the points which were to be discussed. Cyrila replied, Nescio
latine, and persisted in his objection to the speaking of Latin,
although he was answered that he had elsewhere made copious
use of this language. Victor Vitensis maintains (I.e. p. 683)
that Cyrila had met the Catholic bishops with better prepara-
tion and more boldly than he had expected ; but that they had
taken the precaution of drawing up a confession of faith in
writing, of which he gives a copy (lib. iii.), and which is also
given in Mansi and Hardouin.1 Tillemont shows (I.e. p. 797)
that, in the subscription of this formula, xii. Kal. Mart, instead
of Mai. must be read.
Huneric now put forth an edict, on February 24, in which
he blamed the assembled Orthodox bishops that they had not
either at the first or the second day of sitting (so that the
assembly lasted two days), proved the ffomoousion from
Holy Scripture, although they had been challenged to do so ;
but, on the contrary, had occasioned a rising and an uproar
among the people. He therefore gave orders that their
churches should remain closed until they should come and
take part in the disputation. Further, the laws which the
Roman Emperors, misled by the bishops, had promulgated
against heretics, should now be directed against the main-
tainers of the ffomoousion. They were therefore forbidden
to hold meetings anywhere ; they were not to have a church
in any city or village; they must not take part in any
baptism, ordination, or the like ; and in case they continued
in their perverseness, they should be punished with exile.
Moreover, the laws of the Eoman Emperors against heretical
laymen should now be in force, and they should be deprived
of the right to sell, to leave by will, and to succeed to legacies,
inheritances, trusts, etc. ; and, moreover, those who occupied
dignities and offices should be stripped of them, and should be
declared infamous. All books in which they defended their
error (the Nicene doctrine) were to be burnt. Anyone, how-
ever, who should return from his error by the 1st of June, was
1 Mansi, t. vii. p. 1143 ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 857.
38 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
to be free from all punishments. Finally, all the churches, to-
gether with church property, in the whole kingdom, were to
be made over to the true, that is, the Arian bishops and priests.1
Besides this, King Huneric had the Catholic bishops pre-
sent in Carthage sought for in their lodgings, deprived of
their property, their servants, and horses, and driven out of
the city. Whoever should receive them was to have his house
burnt. Later on they were all excommunicated ; the majority
(302) being sent to different parts of Africa, where they had
to live as country people without any spiritual functions
(Huneric did with them as Luther with Carlstadt), whilst
forty-six were sent to the island of Corsica, where they had to
hew wood for the royal ships. Victor adds that twenty-
eight had escaped, one had become a martyr, one a confessor,
and eighty-eight had died earlier.2
SEC. 215. Synod in tlie Lateran at Rome, A.D. 487 or 488.
Soon after Huneric perpetrated other outrages. He died,
however, in 485, and his nephew Guntamund recalled from
exile all the Catholics with the exception of the bishops. Of
the latter only Eugenius of Carthage was allowed to return and
hold divine service again. Many of those who, during the
time of Huneric's persecution, had fallen away from the
Orthodox faith and gone over to the Arians, now prayed to
be taken back into the Church. As, however, the African
bishops, being in exile, were unable to hold a Synod on this
subject, Pope Felix took up the cause of the African Church
and held a Council in Borne, early in the year 487, in order
to establish the conditions under which the fallen should be
taken back to Church communion.3 Baronius and Binius main-
tain that the Africans themselves, and particularly the fallen,
had petitioned the Pope to make regulations in this matter.4
1 Victor Vit. lib. iv. I.e. p. 687 sqq.; Mansi, t. vii. p. 1153 sqq.; Hardouin, t.
ii. p. 867 sqq. ; Baron, ad ann. 484, n. 54 ; Tillemont, t. xvi. p. 562.
2 Victor Vit. I.e. p. 693 ; Mansi, t. vii. p. 1164 ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 875.
Cf. Tillemont, t. xvi. p. 565 sqq.
3 The Acts of the Synod are found in Mansi, t. vii. pp. 1171 sqq. and 1056,
and in Hardouin, t. ii. pp. 877 and 832.
4 Baron, ad ann. 487, n. 2 ; Mansi, t. vii. p. 1174.
LATERAN SYNOD AT ROME, A.D. 487 OR 488. 39
The still extant synodal letter tells us that this Roman Synod
was held on the 13th of March under the consulate of Flavius
Boethius, that is, in the year 487, in the Basilica Constan-
tiniaua, that is, in the Lateran Church, under the presidency
of Pope Felix, and in the presence of thirty-nine Italian
and four African bishops, together with many priests and
deacons.
Felix opened the Synod with the statement that there
were unfortunately in Africa bishops, priests, and deacons
who had fallen away from the faith in the time of persecu-
tion, and had been rebaptized by the Arians. Resolutions
had to be taken in reference to these, and he would now let
his own opinion on the subject be known. Upon this the
deacon Anastasius read the sketch of an ordinance addressed
to all bishops, which was forthwith approved by the Synod, and
is of the following content : " 1. If anyone has in the manner
described been rebaptized, it must first of all be ascertained
whether he has been so voluntarily or under compulsion.
Such an one must undertake works of penance, fasts, and
lamentations, since God sends His grace only to the humble.
But all are not to be treated in the same manner, and those
most harshly to whom ministration in the house of God has
been confided, that is, the clergy. 2. Bishops, priests, and lay-
men, who receive rebaptism voluntarily or compulsorily, must
remain in penance until the end of their life, without being
allowed to participate in the public prayers, even as catechu-
mens, and only in articulo mortis are they to be admitted to
lay communion.1 3. In regard to the (lower) clergy, monks,
virgins dedicated to God, and laymen, the prescriptions of the
Nicene Council (respecting the fallen) are to be observed.
Those who without compulsion gave themselves to be re-
baptised, if they show deep repentance, shall be placed among
the audientes for three years, for seven years as pcenitcntes (in
the third degree) shall be placed under the imposition of
hands of the priests, and for two years (In the fourth degree of
penitence) shall be excluded from the sacrifice.2 If they die
1 On the Communio laica, cf. Binterim, Denkwurdigkeiten Bd. iv. Thl. 3, S.
501 ff., and Bd. vii. Thl. 1, S. 63.
8 Cf. c. 11 of Nica?a, in vol. i. p. 416.
40 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
earlier, the Viaticum is not to be refused to them.1 4. Boys
under age, whether clerics or laymen, as also girls under age,
shall for some time, in the third degree of penitence receive
the imposition of hands and then shall be admitted to com-
munion. 5. If anyone should be admitted to communion,
because of sickness, before the expiration of his time of pen-
ance, and afterwards recover his health, he shall, in accord-
ance with the Nicene prescription (can. 13), complete the
still remaining time of his penance among the penitents of
the fourth degree. 6. Catechumens who have allowed them-
selves to be baptized by heretics, shall spend three years
among the audientes, and after that shall receive (not a new
baptism, but) the imposition of hands.2 7. The lower clerics,
monks, and laymen, who have received rebaptism under com-
pulsion, shall do penance for three years ; but bishops, priests,
and deacons, even when they have acted under compulsion, must,
as has been said, remain their whole lifelong in penance. 8. All
who have received rebaptism from heretics, or who as catechu-
mens have received first baptism, are prohibited from becoming
clerics. 9. No bishop or priest must receive a penitent from a
strange diocese without a testimonial from his bishop or priest.3
As this letter is dated March 15, under the consulate of
Dynamius and Siphidius, and therefore in the year 488,
whilst the Roman Synod was held in March of the former
year, we must assume either that a whole year had elapsed
before the actual sending out of the particular copies of the
synodal letter, or that the date placed at the head of the
synodal Acts, Flavio Boethio, V.C. Cons., is erroneous, and it
should be read P.C. (i.e. post consulatum) Flavii Boethii,
which would refer to the year 488.4
SEC. 216. Synods in Persia and at Constantinople.
The Synod of the Nestorians at Seleucia, A.D. 489,
1 Cf. c. 13 of Nicaea, in vol. i. p. 419.
2 Cf. c. 14 of Nicaea, in vol. i. p. 420, and what is there said on heretical
baptism, p. 477.
3 Mansi, t. vii. p. 1171 sqq. and p. 1056 ; Hardouin, t. ii. pp. 877 and 882.
4 Cf. Tillemont, t. xvi. p. 592 ; Remi Ceiller, I.e. p. 624 ; and the remark of
Mansi, t. vii. p. 1174.
SYNODS IN PERSIA AND AT CONSTANTINOPLE. 41
scarcely deserves mention. It was occasioned by the fact
that the already named Bishop Barsumas of Nisibis had
accused the Overmetropolitan Acacius of fornication. The
latter proved, in a chamber adjoining the place of meeting
of the Synod, that the accused was a eunuch, whereupon
Barsumas was anathematised as a slanderer.1 Three other
Nestorian Synods in Persia are mentioned by Simeon Beth-
Arsamanensis.2
In the year 489 the Patriarch Acacius of Constantinople
died, and his successor, Fravitas or Flavitas, lost no time in
removing practically the existing division between Eome and
Constantinople. He addressed a very courteous letter to
Pope Felix, assuring him of his orthodoxy. In a similar
sense the Emperor Zeno also wrote again to the Pope, and
for the conveyance of the two letters Flavitas sent two clerics
and several monks as legates to Eome. They were received
with great friendliness, but Felix would not commit himself
to a formal reception of Flavitas into communion, because the
deputies from Constantinople were unable to promise that he
would strike the name of his predecessor Acacius from the
diptychs. Yet the Pope addressed friendly letters both to
the Emperor and to the new patriarch.3 Flavitas, however,
died before receiving it, and was succeeded by Euphemius, a
decided adherent of Orthodoxy, who, as we are told by Victor
of Tununum, assembled a Synod at Constantinople in the
year 492, and confirmed the decrees of Chalcedon, whilst the
Emperor Anastasius, Zeno's successor, was a declared friend
of Monophysitism.4
The Libellus Synodicus adds that Euphemius sent the Acts
of his Synod to the Pope.5 What is certain is, that he
sought most earnestly for restoration of communion with
Eome, but that the Pope, both Felix and, after his death,
Gelasius (since the beginning of 492) persevered in requiring
that the name of Acacius should be struck from the diptychs,
1 Assemani, BiUioth. Oriental, t. iii. pt. ii. p. clxxx ; also in Mansi, t. vii.
p. 1173.
2 Assemani, I.e. p. 178 ; Mansi, t. viii. p. 143.
8 Mansi, t. vii. pp. 1097 and 1100.
4 Victor Tunun., Chronicon in Galland. Biblioth. PP. t. xii. p. 226.
5 Mansi, t. vii. pp. 1180 and 1175 ; Hardouin, t. v. p. 1530.
42 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
which Euphemius declared that he could not venture to do.
A further understanding between Eome and Constantinople
was rendered impossible by the deposition of Euphemius in
496. The Emperor Anastasius now assembled a Synod at
Constantinople, which, at his will, gave an approval to the
infamous Henoticon, deposed Euphemius, and in his place
raised Macedonius to the throne of the capital city. So we
are told by Victor of Tununum.1
SEC. 217. The two Roman Synods under Pope Gelasius.
The Gelasian Decree de libris recipiendis.
A great controversy has arisen concerning the Roman
Synod under Pope Gelasius, which is said to have drawn up
the earliest Index prohibitorum. In the printed collections
of the Acts of the Councils we find this Gelasian Index with
the superscription : " A Eoman Council of seventy bishops,
under the presidency of Pope Gelasius, and under the Consuls
Asterius and Preesidius, i.e. in the year 494, published this
decree for the distinction of genuine and apocryphal books."
The date here given is assailed by several not unimportant
considerations. In the oldest and best, and in nearly all of
the manuscripts of the Gelasian decree, no consuls are speci-
fied ; and Pagi and Ballerini, supporting themselves upon this,
have no hesitation in referring the drawing up of this Index
to the last year of Gelasius, A.D. 496 ; and in this they are
confirmed by the fact that the Carmen Paschale of Sedulius,
which was first published in the year 495, is mentioned and
commended in the Index.2
Others solve the difficulty in another manner, and assume
that the mention of the Carmen Paschale is one of the additions
which Pope Hormisdas, as we shall see, made to the Gelasian
Decree.3 As, however, the best and oldest manuscripts of the
Gelasian Decree have this passage, we must decide against the
latter theory and in favour of that of Pagi and Ballerini.
1 In Gallamlius, I.e. p. 226.
2 Pagi, ad ann. 494, n. 2-7 iucl. ; Bailer, edit. Opp. S. Leonis, t. iii. p. clvi n.
ix. ; and in the notes of the Ballerini in Noris, Opp. omnia, t. iv. p. 927 sq.
3 Migne, Dictionnaire des Conciles, t. ii. p. 599.
THE TWO ROMAN SYNODS UNDER POPE GELASIUS. 43
This brings us to the second controversy in reference to
our Index, as to its authorship. In some ancient manuscripts
this is ascribed to Pope Damasus, who lived more than one
hundred years before Gelasius, and died A.D. 384. One of
these is a very old MS. of the Collectio Dionysii Exigui, and
in the Cresconian collection.1 We may add that this is sup-
ported by the Codex Frisingensis, which is nearly a thousand
years old.2
Still most of the oldest and best MSS. assign the com-
position to Pope Gelasius, and in particular the three excellent
codices discovered last century, the Luccensis, Vaticanus, and
Florentinus, which were edited by Mansi, Fontaninus, and
Blanchinus.3 In addition to which Pope Gelasius is named
as author by the most ancient ecclesiastical writers who
mention the Index. To the same effect is the testimony of a
document of the Abbey of S. Riquier of the year 832 ; and
further, Abbot Ansegis of Fontenelle in 833, also Lupus of
Ferrieres, Hincmar of Reims, and Pope Nicholas I.4 To this
it must be added that our Index contains a great deal which
refers to a later period than that of Damasus. It refers, e.g.,
to the (Ecumenical Synods of Ephesus and Chalcedon, and to
the writings of S. Cyril of Alexandria, of S. Chrysostom and
S. Augustine, of Pope Leo I., Prosper of Aquitaine, etc., so
that a considerable portion of it cannot possibly be the work
of Damasus. This, however, by no means excludes the sup-
position that certain parts of the Gelasian Decree may belong
to Pope Damasus, and indeed the most recent investigations
made by Dr. Thiel 5 and Dr. Friedrich 6 have established with
certainty that the first third of the Gelasian Decree comes
down from the time of Damasus. These two scholars have also
1 Cf. Pagi, ad ann. 494, n. 2. 2 Mansi, t. viii. p. 154.
3 Reprinted in Mansi, t. viii. p. 153 sqq.
4 Cf. Bemi Ceiller, Histoire des auteurs saerts, t. xv. p. 631 ; Migne, Diction-
naire des Candles, t. ii. p. 596 ; Fabricii Biblioth. Orieca, t. xii. p. 658, ed.
Harless.
5 De Decretali Gdasii Papas de recipiendis et not recipiendis libris, etc.,
cdidit Dr. Andreas Thiel, as. Theol. in regio Lyceo Hosiano Brunsbergensi
Prof. p. o. 1866.
8 Friedrich, Drei unedirte Concillen aus der Merovingerzeit niit einem
Auhang liber das Decretum Gelasii, Bamberg 1867.
44 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS
settled, with an approach to certainty, the original text of
the Gelasian Decree, Friedrich using for that purpose a codex,
belonging to the Munich Library, of the eighth or ninth
century, one of the most ancient existing manuscripts of this
Decree. The text of this Munich codex agrees in all essential
points with that which Dr. Thiel had established by a com-
parison of thirty-eight other MSS., that of Munich being
unknown to him.
Thiel divides the whole Decree into five parts : (1) De
Spiritu Sancto, (2) De Canone Scripturse Sacrae, (3) De Sedibus
patriarchalibus, (4) De Synodis oecumenicis, (5) De libris
recipiendis. Of these five parts the first three, which con-
stitute only the first chapter of the Decree, belong to Pope
Damasus ; whilst the last two parts, which are much more
comprehensive than the first three, and constitute the second,
third, and fourth chapters of the Decree, proceed from Pope
Gelasius. As, however, the third successor of Gelasius, Pope
Hormisdas (t523), renewed this Decree, and added several
appendices, it came to pass that several manuscripts named
him as author of the whole.
The division which belongs to Pope Damasus and a
Roman Synod under him begins with the words, " Dictum
est : prius agendum est de Spiritu septiformi, qui in Christo
requiescit," and then the biblical expressions, " Spiritus
sapientiae, consilii," etc., are explained. To this is added an
explanation of the expressions referring to Christ, " Dominus,
Verbum, Filius, Pastor, Leo," etc., and the whole concludes
with the sentence, " Nominato itaque Patre et Filio intelligitur
Spiritus Sanctus," etc.
That it should be necessary to place at the head of a
Decree an explanation of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit given
by a Synod and a Pope, suits quite well the times of Pope
Damasus, but not so well those of Gelasius.
The second section (again by Damasus) gives the canon
of the Bible, and at the close are placed " Joannis apostoli
epistola i. ; Alterius Joannis presbyteri epistolae ii." This,
again, is not suitable for Gelasius in whose time the three
Epistles were quite definitely assigned to John the evangelist,
but is quite suitable to Damasus, whose friend, S. Jerome, as
THE TWO ROMAN SYNODS UNDER POPE GELASIUS. 45
is well known, assigned only the first of the three Johannean
Epistles to the apostle, and the two others to the so-called
Presbyter John.1
The third section, by Pope Damasus, treats of the primacy
of Eome and of the patriarchal Churches, and in particular
declares : " Eomana ecclesia nullis synodicis constitutis
ceteris ecclesiis praelata est, sed evangelica voce Domini et
Salvatoris nostri primatum obtinuit." At the same time,
the opinion, which has found many advocates in the ancient
and the later Church, that Peter and Paul had not been
martyred in the same year (uno tempore), was declared
heretical2 Then the Eoman Church is designated and
declared to be the first see of Peter, and "non habens
maculam neque rugam nee aliquid hujusmodi " ; the second
see to be " apud Alexandriam," dedicated in the name of Peter
and of his disciple, the evangelist Mark; and the third that of
Antioch, where Peter " priusquam Komam venisset, habitavit."
To this third section of Damasus, Pope Gelasius added
the two additional sections, " De Synodis oecumenicis," and
" De libris recipiendis," chapters 2, 3, and 4 of the whole
Decree. In the first it is said : " Sancta, i.e. Romana,
ecclesia post illas veteris et novi testamenti, quas regulariter
suscipimus, etiam has suscipi non prohibet Scripturas, id
est: Sanctam Synoduin Nicsenam . . . sanctam synodum
Ephesinam . . . sanctam synodum Chalcedonensem." . . .
As we see, and have remarked above (vol. ii. p. 373), the
second (Ecumenical Synod is not named, but Pope Hormisdas
in his copy added this, and this is the first important
addition belonging to him. The second he places after the
notice of the Council of Chalcedon in these words : " Sed et
si qua sunt concilia a sanctis patribus hactenus instituta,
post horum auctoritatem et custodienda et recipienda et
decernimus et mandamus." To the Synod of Nicaea also he
had added : " In qua Arius haereticus condemnatus est."
1 Hieronymi Catalog. Script, eccl. cc. 9 and 18.
3 Windischmann endeavours, in his Vindicise Petrinse (p. 66), to explain
this as follows: "Gelasium magis perversam hsereticorum, qui ea traditione
abutcbantur, intentionem reprehendisse credimus, quam quod ipsam illam
traditionem hsereticam esse censuerit,"
4G HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
In chapter 3 the " libri recipiendi " of the Church Fathers,
and in chapter 4 the " libri apocryphi qui non recipiuntur,"
are denned, and here all those books which the Church of
Eome rejects are designated as apocryphal, whether they are
inserted surreptitiously (properly apocryphal) or are genuine.
Thus, for example, the writings of Tertullian and of the
Alexandrian Clement are named " apocrypha," in the same
way as the " Actus Andreas apostoli " and " Thomae apostoli,"
etc. It is worthy of remark that among the " apocrypha "
the " Opuscula Tascii Cypriani" are placed, whilst the
" Opuscula b. Caecilii Cypriani martyris et Carthaginensis
episcopi" are the first among the commended books (c. 3).
So these " Apocrypha Cypriani " must either have been books
falsely attributed to S. Cyprian, or we must understand by
Tascius Cyprianus another than S. Cyprian, whose name was
also Tascius. It is further remarkable that the Church
history, " Historia Eusebii Pamphili," is in chapter 4 placed
among the " apocrypha," whilst in chapter 3 it is, together
with the Chronicle of Eusebius, placed among the " libri
recipiendi," with the note : " Quamvis in primo narrationis
suae libro tepuerit (he has been lukewarm) et post in laudibus
atque excusatione Origenis schismatici unum conscriperit
librum, propter rerum tarn singularum notitiam, quae ad
instructionem pertinent, usquequaque non dicimus renuendos."
Finally, " nonnulla opuscula " of Origen, " quae vir beatissimus
Hieronymus non repudiat," are recognised, but the rest,
together with their author, are rejected. The " Canones
Apostolorum," the " Pastor Hermae," and the writings of
Arnobius, Lactantius, and Cassian, are also numbered among
the " apocrypha." The variations in this section, which are
the work of Hormisdas, are of slighter significance.1
Immediately after the Eoman Synod just noticed, the
collections of Councils place a second, held at Rome under
Gelasius, which took place in March (not in May) 495, and
therefore should properly be placed before the other. Under
the presidency of the Pope, there were present forty-five
1 Less exact reports of the Gelasian Decree are found in Mansi, t. viii. pp.
146-172 ; Hardouin, t. ii. pp. 937-942 ; and in the Corp. Jur. Can, c. 3,
Dist. xv.
THE LAST SYNODS OF THE FIFTH CENTUKY. 47
other bishops, together with many priests and deacons, and
two laymen of distinction. The occasion of this Synod was
the petition for readmission to the Church of Bishop Misenus,
who had been one of the unfaithful legates of Pope Felix
(see above, p. 30). His petition was presented at the first
session of the Synod, on the 8th of March 495 ; there was,
however, no resolution taken in the matter, and Gelasius
therefore allowed the petition to be read anew at the second
session. Misenus was now also permitted to appear before
the Synod in person, and to present a second petition, which
was also read, and which bears the date of March 13. This
is probably the date of the second session, since we need not
assume that a long interval had elapsed between this and the
first session, March 8. In any case the subscription of our
Acts gives the 13th of May (Hi Idus Maii) as the date of
the second session, but Pagi (ad ann. 495, n. 2), and others
after him, have supposed that this is a mistake for Hi Idus
Martii.
After the reading of the two petitions, Pope Gelasius
addressed the Synod, and in a rather long speech set forth
the grounds on which they should receive Misenus back into
the Church, and not drive him to despair since he had shown
such deep repentance, arid had pronounced anathema on all
heresies and heretics ; whilst his colleague Vitalis, who had
committed the same fault at Constantinople, had died in the
meantime, and on account of his sudden death could no longer
be reconciled to the Church. All the bishops and priests
gave their full approval to this proposal in liveliest acclama-
tions, and thus Misenus was restored to favour.1 He appears
again at a later period as member of a Koman Synod,
A.D. 499.
SEC. 218. The last, Synods of the Fifth Century.
At the baptism of Chlodwig, on Christmas Day 496,
some bishops of the Frankish kingdom were assembled in
S. Martin's Church at Reims, as we learn from a letter of
Bishop Avitus of Vienne to Chlodwig, and from a letter of
1 The Acts in Mansi, t. viii. p. 177 sqq. ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 941 sqq.
48 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
Bishop Nicetius of Trier (Treves) ; l but their meeting is
scarcely to be regarded as a Synod.
We are told of a Synod at Constantinople, which was
held in the year 497 or 498, by Victor of Tununum,
Theophanes, and the Libdlus Synodicus, but unfortunately the
testimonies are not clear, nor are they in agreement.
Theophanes says (ad ann. 491 of the Alexandrian = 498 of
the ordinary reckoning) : " In this year Bishop Macedonius
of Constantinople, by the advice of the Emperor (Anastasius),
endeavoured to unite with himself the monasteries of the
metropolis, which had separated (from the patriarch and the
Henotickers) on account of the Henoticon. As, however,
there was no result, he advised the Emperor to summon a
trvvoSos evBijfAovo-a, in order to approve of the good decrees of
Chalcedon (TO, AcaXw? Soy/iana-Owa), and this was done."2
With this agrees the Libellus Synodicus, stating : " Mace-
donius held a Synod, which confirmed in writing the decrees
of Chalcedon, but from fear of the Emperor Anastasius
passed over the Henoticon in silence." 3
But the very reverse seems to be found in Victor of
Tununum, since he writes, ad ann. 497 : " Macedonius Con-
stantinopolitanus episcopus synodo facta condemnat eos qui
Chalcedontnsis decreta synodi suscipiunt, et eos qui Nestorii et
Eutychis defendunt." 4 Macedonius appears here plainly as a
heretic, who indeed, on the one hand, rejected the Nestorian and
Eutychian doctrines, but, on the other hand, refused to accept
the Synod of Chalcedon, that is, the positive part of it, its
declaration of faith. As, however, the Synod had also a
negative part, namely, the rejection of the Nestorian and
Eutychian doctrines, Mansi5 thinks that we can reconcile
the testimonies of Theophanes and Victor by supposing that
the former understood by the /caXtu? Boyfjiana-devra, not all
the decrees of Chalcedon, but only those against the heretics,
the negative part ; and that Macedonius, at his Synod, con-
1 Mansi, t. viii. pp. 175 and 178.
2 Theophanes, Chronogr. ed. Bonn, t. i. p. 218 sq. Cf. Pagi, ad ann.
498, n. 7.
3 In Hardouin, t. v. p. 1530 ; Mansi, t. viii. p. 374.
4 Galland. I.e. t. xii. p. 226, 8 Mansi, t. viii. p. 199 sq.
THE LAST SYNODS OF THE FIFTH CENTURY. 49
firmed this, which was a principal part of the decrees, but
not the positive part, because this must of necessity have
condemned the Henoticon. More than this he thinks that
Victor of Tununum could not properly say, since he himself
only a little later mentions that Macedonius was soon after-
wards deposed by the Emperor Anastasius, because he would
not pronounce anathema on the Council of Chalcedon.
With such a disposition, it would be clear that Macedonius
himself could not, in the year 497, have pronounced the
rejection of all parts of the Synod of Chalcedon.
This seems correct, and we allow that in this manner
a harmony may be established between Theophanes and
Victor ; but not between the latter and the Libellus Synodicus.
Besides, there must still remain the doubt whether Mace-
donius could have believed that the monks of Constantinople,
particularly the Acoemetse, who were strict adherents of the
Synod of Chalcedon, would be reconciled with him and the
Henoticans, if he approved of only one part of the Chal-
cedonian decrees, and expressly rejected the other, as we
must suppose from the testimony of Victor.
Through the same Victor of Tununum we learn of a
further Synod at Constantinople in the year 499. This also
falls under the episcopate of Macedonius ; Victor, however,
says nothing of this bishop having taken part in it, but only
relates that the Emperor Anastasius, when Flavian was
bishop of Antioch, and Philoxenus was bishop of Jerusalem,
held a Synod at Constantinople, which, on the one hand,
anathematised Diodorus of Tarsus and Theodore of Mop-
suestia, together with their writings ; and on the other, Theo-
doret of Cyrus, Ibas of Edessa, Andrew (of Samosata),
Eucherius (Eutherius), Quirus (Cyrus), John (of Antioch), and
all who accept two natures and two forms in Christ, together
with the Koman Bishop Leo and his tome (his famous
letter to Flavian of Constantinople),1 and also the Synod
of Chalcedon.2
To the same year also belongs a Roman Synod, which
Pope Symmachus held on the 1st of March 499 in the
1 See the history of the Council of Chalcedon in vol. iiL
2 Victor. Tunun. in Galland. I.e. t. xii. p. 226.
IV. 4
50 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
Basilica of S. Peter,1 and at which seventy-two bishops were
present. Its aim was to take precautions that at future papal
elections there should not again be such painful divisions and
faction fights as had happened on the former occasion. A few
days after the death of Pope Anastasius ii.. on the 22nd of
November 498, Syminachus, until then a deacon of the Roman
Church, a native of Sardinia, had been elected Pope in the
Basilica of Constantino (i.e. in the Lateran Church). But on
the same day another party elected, in S. Mary's Church
(Maria Maggiore), the Archpresbyter Lawrence, and in fact
the imperial commissioner, the Patrician Festus, had brought
about this election by a great expenditure of money, in the
hope that Lawrence might be inclined to accept the Henoticon
of Zeno. Both Symmachus and Lawrence were immediately
consecrated ; but Symmachus was first, and, besides, he had the
majority on his side. People, clergy, and senate were divided
into two parties, between whom it came not unfrequently to
sanguinary conflicts. In order to put an end to this critical
state of things, the two parties agreed to go to Eavenna, and
submit the controversy for decision to King Theoderic, the
Ostrogoth, who, although an Arian, was then master of Eome.
This was done, and Theoderic decided that, " whichever had
been first ordained, or whichever had the majority on his side,
should possess the see " ; and thus his judgment was in favour
of Symmachus, who soon after summoned the Synod in ques-
tion. So Anastasius relates,2 and in part also Theodorus
Lector,3 who are followed by Theophanes4 and Nicephorus
Callisti;5 only that the latter speak merely of the Synod
summoned in the year 501 by King Theoderic, whilst they
are silent respecting that of the year 499. But that this was
convoked by Pope Symmachus and not by the King, its Acts
repeatedly declare quite expressly.6
1 On the date, cf. Pagi, ad ann. 499, n. 2.
2 In Baronius, ad ann. 498, n. 3, 4 ; and ad ann. 499, n. 10 ; Pagi, ad ann.
500, n. 9.
3 111 Valesius' edition of the Greek Church historians, lib. ii. p. 560, ed. Mog.
after the Church History of Theodoret.
4 Theophanes, Chronographia, t. i. p. 221.
8 Nicephorus, lib. xvi. c. 35.
6 Mansi, t. viii. p. 230 sq. ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 957 sqq.
THE LAST SYNODS OF THE FIFTH CENTURY. 51
At the opening of this Roman Synod, Archdeacon Ful-
gentius made an address to Pope Symmachus, pointing out
that the Synod which he had convoked from all parts of Italy
had assembled, and the Pope should now communicate the
measures which should be taken for preserving the Church
from injury, and for the establishment of its peace. All
present supported this request with acclamation, and Pope
Symmachus explained how it was that, in spite of its being
winter, he had assembled the bishops, and that the formation
of a fixed rule for the ordination of a Roman bishop was
necessary, in order to avoid, for the future, all divisions, agita-
tions, and risings of the people. The bishops again gave their
approval, and the papal notary vEmilian read the following
statute : —
1. If a priest or other cleric, during the lifetime of the
Pope, and without his previous knowledge, should venture to
put down his signature for the future election, or promise a
voting paper, or give an assurance on oath, or promise a vote,
or attend at private meetings for the purpose of holding con-
sultations and taking resolutions on this subject, he shall be
deprived of his office and of Church communion. — The Synod
gave its assent with loud approval.
2. The same punishment shall be inflicted on anyone who
is proved, in the lifetime of a Pope, to have canvassed for the
succession, or has made attempts in that way. — Again all the
bishops declared their assent.
3. Should the Pope (which God forbid !) die unexpectedly,
and so be unable to make any provision for the election of a
successor,1 then, if the collected clergy elect one unanimously,
he shall be consecrated. If, however, as often happens, the
opinions and votes are divided, the judgment of the majority
shall prevail. And every elector who, having bound himself
by a promise, has not given his vote freely in the election,
shall be deprived of his spiritual office.
4. Whoever brings to knowledge a violation of this ordin-
1 The Pope did not indeed designate his successor, but frequently recom-
mended & clergyman, who was then generally elected. Cf. Barouius, ad ann. 499,
n. 8 ; and Binius in Mansi, t. viii. p. 238, not. <j. In other places, however,
such recommendation was not allowed. See above, sec. 211.
52 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
ance, even if he was himself a participator in the offence, shall
not only remain unpunished, but shall even be rewarded. —
Again they all signified their approval ; and after Symmachus
had addressed a few closing words to the members, they sub-
scribed to the number of seventy-two bishops, including the
Pope, sixty -nine priests, and six deacons.1
Among the priests who signed stands first the Arch-
presbyter Coelius Lawrence, the very man who had been
raised by the schismatical party to be antipope. He had
made submission, and had expressed this indubitably by adding
to his subscription : " Subscripsi et consensi synodalibus
constitutis, atque in hac me profiteer manere sententia."
That he received the bishopric of Nocera in consequence of
this submission, and indeed " intuitu misericordiae," Anastasius
tells us, but without suggesting so definitely as Baronius
imagined that this had been decided by our Synod. In this
respect Pagi has already with propriety combated him ;2 but
he also was mistaken when he attributed this advancement of
Lawrence to a Eoman Synod of the year 500, since no such
Synod met in that year, as the Bollandists3 and Mansi4
showed, so that Lawrence was promoted to the bishopric of
Nocera either by the Synod of 499 or immediately after-
wards by Pope Symmachus.5
But scarcely was this peace built up when, in the follow-
ing year, it was overthrown, and the exasperation of both
parties found expression in acts of great violence, so that new
Synods became necessary in order to restore peace to the
Church. These all, however, fall into the sixth century, and
thus belong to the next book. We must, however, turn our
attention to a plenary or patriarchal Council of the Nestorians
in Persia, which was held in the second year of King Zamasches
(Giamasabas), i.e. in the year 499, and under the presidency
of the Patriarch Babseus. At an earlier Persian Synod we
met with a Babu or Babuaeus as overmetropolitan of Seleucia-
1 Mansi, t. viii. p. 230 sqq. ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 957 sqq. Mansi has critical
remarks on these subscriptions, I.e. p. 305 sq.
2 Pagi, ad ann. 499, n. 3 ; and ad ann. 500, n. 8 and 9.
z Acta Sanctorum, die 19 Julii, p. 639, in the Vita S. Symmachi.
* Mansi, t. viii. p. 303.
6 See below, sec. 220.
RELIGIOUS CONFERENCE IN BURGUNDY, AT LYONS. 53
Ctesiphon, and saw him in violent conflict with the Metropoli-
tan Barsumas of Nisibis (see above, sec. 213). Soon afterwards,
in the year 485, Babu was taken off in consequence of political
suspicion which Barsabas had excited against him, and Acacius
was raised to succeed him. He excommunicated Barsabas and
his adherents, and thus arose a schism among the Nestorians,
which lasted on even after the death of Barsumas. When,
however, Acacius, in the year 498, was succeeded by Babaeus,
who was up to this time a layman and married, the latter took
measures for the removal of the schism, and the Synod con-
voked by him in the year 499 did, in fact, reconcile the
parties, and renewed not only the previous precedence of the
see of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, but raised it to patriarchal dignity,
the possessor of which should bear the title Catholicus ; in
this way separating Seleucia from the patriarchate of Antioch,
to which it had hitherto belonged. Moreover, the Synod
repeated the permission given at an earlier period, that all
clerics, even bishops and monks, might live in monogamy,
and ordered the regular holding of provincial and patriar-
chal Synods. The former were to be celebrated once a
year, and the latter every four years in the month of
October.1
SEC. 219. Religious Conference in the Kingdom of Burgundy,
at Lyons.
We close the twelfth book with an assembly which,
without being a Council in the proper sense, yet deserves
to be mentioned here. This is the religious conference
which was held at Lyons between the orthodox and Arian
bishops of Burgundy, with the permission of Gundobald, the
Arian king of Burgundy, and in his presence. That it took
place on the feast of S. Justus (who had been bishop of
Lyons in the second half of the fourth century) and on the
following day, therefore on the 2nd and 3rd of September,
is expressly stated in the Acts of this Collatio, first edited
1 In Assemani, Biblioth. Oriental, t. iii. pt. i. p. 429 ; Mansi, t. viii. p. 239 sq.
Cf. Wiltsch, KircM. Statistik, Bd. i. S. 215, and the article "Barsumas" in the
Kirchenlexicon of Wetzer and Welte.
54 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
by d'Achery in his Spidlegium, t. v. p. 110.1 The year,
however, is doubtful, and scholars waver from 499 to 501.
It is a decided error of Baronius to place it in A.D. 494
(ad ann. 494, n. 68). Pagi decided for 501 (ad ann. 501,
n. 4), and many have followed him ; but others prefer the
year 499.2 A quite certain result is no longer attainable;
but we believe that we must decide for the year 499, and
shall give our reasons below. Archbishop Stephen of Lyons
had, for this assembly, invited many bishops to the festival
of S. Justus, and prominent among those who came were
Avitus of Vienne, JLonius of Aries, Apollinaris of Valence,
and the bishop of Marseilles. His name, according to the
Histoire litttraire de la France, is supposed to have been
Chartenius.
They all betook themselves first to Sardiniacum, i.e.
Savigny, in Burgundy, where the King resided, in order to pay
their respects to him ; and Avitus of Vienne, though he was
first neither in age nor in rank, yet, on account of his learning
and personal importance, became spokesman, and, after the
salutations were over, proposed to the King the holding of a
religious conference, in order to discuss which was the true
faith. Gundobald replied : " If your faith is the true one, why
do not your bishops restrain the King of the Franks (Chlodwig)
from proclaiming war upon me, and making a union with my
enemies ? When a man covets what is not his own, the true
faith is not with him." ' Avitus answered very discreetly :
"We know not why the Prankish King acts in such a
manner; but Holy Scripture tells us that kingdoms often
perish because they forsake the law of God, and that whoever
fights against God (or the true faith) will himself be with-
stood in turn. But if you, with your people, return to the
law of God, then God will also give you peace again." The
King : " How ? I do acknowledge the law of God, but three
Gods I will not admit." Thereupon Avitus defended the
orthodox faith against the reproach of tritheism, and again
prayed for the holding of a religious conference, embracing,
with the other bishops, the King's knees whilst he made his
1 Printed in Mansi, t. viii. p. 241 sqq. ; and Hardouin, t. ii. p. 963 sqq.
- So the Histoire lUUraire de la France, t. ii. p. 679.
RELIGIOUS CONFERENCE IN BURGUNDY, AT LYONS. 55
request. Gundobald raised them graciously, and promised
them an answer.
The answer came next day, when the King, who himself
had gone to Lyons, called Avitus and Archbishop Stephen
to him again, and declared to them : " Your wish shall be
fulfilled ; for my bishops are ready to prove that no one can
be coeternal and consubstantial with God." He immediately
required that some speakers should be selected from each side,
and that the conference should not be held in public, so that
no disturbances should arise. The time of meeting he fixed
for the following day, the festival of S. Justus, the place the
royal residence.
The orthodox bishops spent the night in prayer at the
grave of S. Justus, and the Lessons appointed for the day
offered them a gloomy prospect ; for they treated of the
hardening of Egypt (Ex. vii.), and of the blinding of the
people (Isa. vi.). Next day they betook themselves to the
residence with many priests and deacons, and also some
Catholic laymen, particularly two royal officers of high rank,
Placidus and Lucanus. In like manner did the Arians.
Avitus was the representative speaker of the orthodox and
Bonifacius of their opponents, and the admirable speech of
Avitus (the original document calls it Ciceronian), in which he
proved the orthodox faith from the Scriptures, made such an
impression that Bonifacius, instead of bringing forward argu-
ments to meet him, could only take refuge in abuse, e.g. that
the Catholics were polytheists. Remarking the consternation
of his party, the King broke up the first session, and declared
that Bonifacius should answer Avitus on the following
day.
When the Catholics assembled at the appointed time next
day in the royal palace, Aredius, one of the highest officials of
Gundobald, tried to persuade them to go back, because the
King had no fondness for such controversies. But Archbishop
Stephen knew that Aredius, although himself a Catholic,
favoured the Arians, and rejected his suggestion. Gundobald,
however, greeted the comers, and conversed for some time
with Avitus and Stephen on the subject, that his own brother
Godegisel had been stirred up against him by the King of the
56 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
Franks.1 Godegisel was king of the second half of the Bur-
gundian kingdom, with the chief cities of Geneva and Besan^on.
The bishops replied that, if Gundobald became united in faith
with Chlodwig, a political union could more easily be brought
about, and they would be ready to use their best exertions to
bring it about. Without answering this the King opened the
new second conference, and Avitus was again the first speaker,
most powerfully refuting the reproach of polytheism which
Bonifacius had cast the day before. When he had finished,
and it became Bonifacius' turn to speak, as before, he could
say nothing but general insulting reproaches, and at the same
time shouted in such a violent manner that he became quite
hoarse, and was unable to go on speaking. No other Arian
ventured to take his place ; and as the King got up angrily
at Boniface, Avitus made one other proposal, that a miracle
should decide, and they should agree to go together to the
grave of S. Justus, and interrogate this dead saint as to the
true faith. The Arians, however, declared that this would be
a sacrilege, which had been punished in the case of Saul
(1 Sam. xxviii. llff.); besides, the Holy Scriptures spoke
more powerfully for them than any calling up of spirits.
Thus ended the business. The King took Avitus and
Stephen with him into his chamber, and begged them to pray
for him. He was shaken, but he was not won ; and, whilst
many of his subjects returned to the orthodox Church in con-
sequence of this colloquy, he himself remained in the snares
of the heresy. " Quod Pater eum non traxerat," says the
record, " non potuit venire ad Filium." King Gundobald, how-
ever, remained in friendly correspondence with Avitus, and
we permit ourselves, on account of its importance, to bring
forward one point from it which is calculated to throw some
1 According to this, the war between Gundobald on the one side, and Chlod-
wig and Godegisel on the other, had not yet properly begun, and it is plain
that Godegisel was still alive. As, however, Marius Aviticensi declares that
Gundobald killed his brother Godegisel under the Consuls Hypatius and
Patricius, i.e. in the year 500, our religious conference must necessarily be
placed before the year 500. Pagi acts very inconsistently when, on the one
hand, he records the statement of Marius Aviticensis (ad ann. 500, n. 10). and
places the death of Godegisel in the year 500 ; whilst, on the other hand, he
removes the religious conference to the year 501.
RELIGIOUS CONFERENCE IN BURGUNDY, AT LYONS. 57
light on the ecclesiastical term Missa. The King once asked
Avitus the sense of the passage Mark vii. 11, 12, which, in
the Latin translation of the time, ran as follows : " Vos
auttim dicitis, si dixerit homo patri suo aut matri, Corban tibi
prof uerit, et jam non missum facitis eum quidquam facere patri
aut matri," i.e. " Ye, however, say, If a man says to his father
or his mother : Corban will profit thee (i.e. What I offer in
the temple, will also be a benefit to thee), ye allow him to do
nothing more for his father or his mother." Gundobald took
special offence at the expression " Non missum facitis " ; and
Avitus remarked in a letter in reply : 1 " ' Non missum facitis '
is just as much as ' non dimittis ' (i.e. ye set him not free, ye
allow him not to do anything for his father), and in the
churches, and also in the halls of judgment, it is customary, when
the people are dismissed, to call out ' Missa est.' ' In ecclesiis
palatiisque sive prsetoriis missa fieri pronunciatur, cum populus
ab observatione dimittitur.' " We see from this that at that
time the formula " Missa est " or " Missa fit " was used also at
the close of the sitting of courts. We learn still further
through Sirmond, in his learned notes on the letters of
Avitus, that the expression, " Ite, missa est," was in ancient
times, and partly in the Middle Ages, used not merely at the
holy Sacrifice, but also at other religious services ; and for this
reason also Matins was called Missce Matutince, and Vespers,
Missce Vespertince.3
1 Galland. Biblioth. P.P. t. x. p. 702.
2 The Vulgate has here the reading specially recommended by Avitus, "non
dimittis," instead of "non missum facitis."
3 Cf. can. 30 of the Council of Agde, A.D. 506, below, sec. 220.
BOOK XIII.
THE SYNODS OF THE FIRST HALF OF THE SIXTH CEN-
TURY TO THE OUTBREAK OF THE CONTROVERSY OF
THE THREE CHAPTERS.
SEC. 220. The Roman Synods under Pope Symmachus,
A.D. 501-504.
AT the opening of the sixth century we meet with a
series of Eoman Synods under Pope Symmachus, with
reference to the dates of which two different chronological
systems have been set up, the one by Pagi in his criticisms
to the Annals of Baronius (ad ann. 499, n. 3 ; ad ann. 500,
n. 7-9 ; ad ann. 501, n. 2 ; ad ann. 502, n. 4 ; ad ann. 603,
n. 2—1 1 ; ad ann. 504, n. 2), the other in the year 1725 by the
Bollandist P. J. Bapt. Sollerius (in his Life of S. Symmachus
in Ada SS. t. iv. Julii die 19 Julii, p. 639). Following
preconceived opinions, Pagi has misplaced the natural order
of these Synods, whilst the Bollandist held fast to Anastasius,
Theodorus Lector, and other ancients, and has attained to
greater accuracy. His theory was confirmed a few years
later by a newly - discovered anonymous Vita Symmachi,
which was composed by a contemporary of Pope Symmachus,
and was published complete for the first time in the year
1732 by Joseph Blanchini,1 whilst somewhat earlier his
uncle, Francis Blanchini, had put forth only fragments of it
in the third volume of his edition of Anastasius. By this
means it became possible for the learned Mansi to establish 2
1 In his edition of pseudo-Athanasii Expositio in Symbolum Apostolorum,
and in the fourth volume of Blanchini's edition of Anastasii Vitce Pontificum,
p. Ixix printed also in Muratori, Rerum Italic. Scriptores, t. iii. pt. ii. p. 45 sq.
2 In his notes to Baronius, and in his Colledio Conciliorum, t. viii. p. 303 sq.
58
ROMAN SYNODS UNDER POPE SYMMACHUS, A.D. 501-504. 59
several chronological points still more accurately than the
Bollandist had done, and all the learned now follow him
almost unanimously. But even Mansi has left sufficient room
for others to glean after him, so that in the following pages
it will be seen that on many points it was necessary to depart
from him and to strike out a way of our own.
First of all, we must hold fast the fact that no Eoman
Synod was held in the year 500. That which Pagi specifies as
an act of such a Synod, namely, the removal of the submissive
Antipope Lawrence to the bishopric of Nocera, was either
decreed by the Synod of March 499, described above, or
soon afterwards by Pope Symrnachus alone. The former
view has recently been maintained by Jaffe* in his Eegesta
Pontificum (p. 62); the Bollandist, on the other hand (I.e. p.
638, n. 23), is more in favour of the other theory; and the
vague manner in which the original documents state the
matter would admit of either supposition. The anonymous
author of the Vita Symmachi, already mentioned, represents
the affair as if this Pope and his opponent Lawrence had
brought their case before the royal tribunal (that of the
Ostrogothic King, Theoderic the Great), and had been obliged
to appear at his court, where Symmachus had prevailed
through money, whilst Lawrence had been induced by
threats and promises to accept the bishopric of Nocera. It
must not be forgotten, in reference to this and other state-
ments of the anonymous author, that he was a violent
opponent of Symmachus and a decided adherent of Lawrence.
Unfortunately the peace of the Church was again dis-
turbed after a short time, so that in Eome, towards the end
of the year 499, and in the year 500, both parties came to
violent and even to sanguinary conflicts. In this matter the
friends of Lawrence peculiarly distinguished themselves by
acts of violence ; and at their head stood two laymen of
exalted position, the Senators Festus and Probus (or Pro-
binus), as well as the Deacon Paschasius, who from his ascetic-
ism had a reputation for holiness among the people. In
their passionateness they did not disdain to bring their
complaints against Symmachus before the heretical King
Theoderic.
60 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
It is rather astonishing that none of the Synods, which
had soon afterwards to examine the accusations against Sym-
machus, should communicate anything more precise on the
offences which were laid against the Pope for punishment.
Baronius (ad ann. 502, n. 32) thinks that this resulted from
reverence for the holy see. From the apology which Ennodius
(f 521, bishop of Pa via) drew up on behalf of Symmachus,
we see, however, that he was accused of adultery ; l and we
learn from the anonymous Vita Symmachi that he was
charged with many crimina, and, because he had not cele-
brated Easter with the other Christians, he was summoned to
the court in order to give an account of this difference.
The King is said to have ordered him to remain at Ariminum ;
but that here, when taking a walk, he had once seen that
those women with whom he was accused of having sinned
were, at the command of the King, on their way to the
residence. Upon this it is said that he fled in haste to
Rome, and shut himself up in S. Peter's Church ; and that
his clergy had fallen away from him, and had declared to the
King that Symmachus had fled without their knowledge.
The clergy are also said to have accused him of squandering
the property of the Church. That this last point was among
the accusations against Symmachus we shall see from his own
address at his fifth Synod on the 6th of November 502 (see
below in this section).
His enemies, clergy and senators, now petitioned the
King to send a Visitor to Rome, who should examine the
accusations against Symmachus, and govern the Roman
Church until the issue of the affair. Theoderic agreed to
this, and nominated for this purpose Bishop Peter of Altino.
We learn more particularly from a second letter of Ennodius 2
that the Visitor, in opposition to the King's commands, did
not remain impartial, but placed himself passionately on the
side of the opponents of Symmachus. We are told by the
anonymous Vita Symmachi that he came to Rome at Easter,
1 Cf. Mansi, t. viii. p. 284, where the Libellus Apologeticus of Ennodius is
printed.
2 From the Panegyric to King Theoderic, extracted in Baronius, ad ann.
500, n. 3 sqq.
ROMAN SYNODS UNDER POPE SYMMACHUS, A.D. 501-504. 61
and it is added, which for our purpose is much more import-
ant, that at the command of the King a Synod was held in
Rome immediately after Easter, in order to allay the strife in
the Church. That the Easter of the year 5 0 1 is here meant,
we learn from an edict, dated August 8, 501, addressed by
the King to the bishops, who had remained in Rome after the
close of this Synod.
We have seen that the first Synod for the removal of the
new schism was held under Symmachus in the year 499, so
that the Synod just described is to be reckoned the second,
and must have been so reckoned by his contemporaries, other-
wise Ennodius could not have designated that Synod for which
he wrote an apology on behalf of Symmachus as the fourth
(see below, in this sec.). This ancient manner of reckoning,
which was forsaken by others, we will again retain. We
find intelligence on this Synod (a) in the Acts of the later
assembly of October 23, 501 ; (b) in some letters from
and to King Theoderic ; and (c) in the anonymous Vita
Symmachi; only the latter throws together several Synods
which were held soon after each other on the same matter,
and treats them as only one, — a confusion which is over-
looked by Mansi
From the first of these three sources we learn that our
Synod was held in the Basilica Julii at Rome, and that
bishops from liguria, ^Emilia, and Venetia were present.
They immediately declared that the right of convoking a
Synod belonged to the Pope, and not to the King, because
the precedence of the Apostle Peter had fallen to the see
of Rome, and because, in accordance with the command of
the Lord, the Councils had conceded to that see a peculiar
distinction in the Church, so that the occupant of that see
was not to be judged by his inferiors. For the pacification
of the bishops the King let them know that Symmachus had
also agreed to the convoking of this Synod, and he had the
papal letter on the subject laid before them.
At the beginning of the business the Pope himself
appeared in the assembly and explained that he was grateful
to the King for its being called, that he saw in it the fulfil-
ment of his own wish, and that he himself accorded to the
62 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
Synod the authority necessary for the examination of the matter.
At the same time, he hoped that the Visitor, who, in opposition
to religion and the rules and ordinances of the Fathers, had
been demanded by a portion of the clergy, or by some of
the laity, should be immediately removed by the assembled
bishops, and that there should without delay be restored
to him, the Pope, all that he had lost through his enemies,
and that the bishop of so exalted a city should be replaced in
his previous position. Then, and not before, he would reply
to the accusations brought against him. To the majority of
the bishops this seemed not unfitting ; but the Synod did not
venture to take any resolution without the assent of the
King. Theoderic, however, gave order that Symmachus must
first, and before he should be reinstated in all the property of
the Church, answer the accusation of his enemies. As the
Pope would not agree, this Synod remained without result.1
In agreement with this, although much more brief, is our
third original document, the Vita Symmachi, if we rightly
understand its text, which in this place is certainly somewhat
corrupt, which relates that a portion of the bishops and
senators (so these also were at the Synod) were unwilling
to place everything in the power of Symmachus, that is, to
restore immediately to him the property of the Church, which
he demanded ; and that (by others) it was declared, that the
Koman bishop could be judged by no one, even if he were
guilty of such crimes as those of which Symmachus was
accused.2
From the second source, finally, from the already mentioned
letter of King Theoderic of August 8, 501, we see that by
this time several bishops had left Eome without giving a
decision, and that the rest appealed to the King, and requested
him to hold a new Synod in his residence at Eavenna. In
his answer, which was addressed to Lawrence of Milan,
Marcellinus of Aquileia, and Peter of Eavenna, as the heads
of the Synod, he praises them and their colleagues, that they
had not, like the others, in a thoughtless manner, left the
city without the permission of the King. He said he should
1 Mansi, t. viii. p. 247 sqq ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 967 sq.
2 In Muratori, I.e. p. 46.
ROMAN SYNODS UNDER POPE SYMMACHUS, A.D. 501-504. 63
bring together a new Synod on the 1st of September, by
means of which the subject in suspense might be settled by
general resolution, and that the Synod should be at Rome, as
he had reasons for not complying with the wish of the bishops
in regard to Ravenna. In case, however, peace and tran-
quillity should not be restored by means even of the new
Synod, he would put aside all his other business and come
himself to Rome.1
In a second letter of VI. Kal. Sept. (August 27) of the
same year,2 the King again required of the bishops who had
been summoned to the Synod, to restore the peace of the
Church in Rome. He said he had placed all things in their
hands. He had also sent the royal house stewards Gudila
and Bedeulphus, together with Arigernus,3 to Rome, in order
to manage that Bishop Symmachus should appear before the
Synod. They would give him adequate security to enable
him to come over to the other side of the city and appear
before the Synod.4
As first and chief source of information respecting the
new Synod, held in Rome, September 1, 501, the third under
Symmachus, we employ the Acts of the following or fourth
Synod, which have already proved most serviceable to us
in reference to the second Synod. We learn from these
that the bishops met in the Basilica of the Holy Cross of
Jerusalem, called also the Basilica Sessoriana after the former
owner of the place, and that the Synod was under the influ-
ence of the enemies of Symmachus, who repeatedly stirred up
tumults against him. In this document a double wrong is
mentioned. They had first maintained that the King himself
1 Mansi, t. viii. p. 253 sq. ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 971 sq. This letter is dated,
" Sub die VI. Idus Augusti, Rufo Magno Fausto Avieno V. C. Cos." Mansi, by
erroneously inserting a comma, makes it appear that this means two consuls,
whereas it means only the one Western consul for the year 501. The consul for
the East in the year 501 was Fl. Probus.
- In Mansi, t. viii. p. 254 sqq. ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 972 sq.
1 That this, and not Conzatiernus, is the right reading, and that Arigeruus
was actually Major domus, is clear from the Relatio Episcoporum ad Regem in
Mansi, I.e. p. 256 ; Hardouin, I.e. p. 973.
4 The Pope lived in S. Peter's ; but the new Synod was held in the Church
of Ss. Croce in the east end of the city, not far from the Lateran ; so that
Theoderic could say that the Pope should come citra urbem.
64 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
had got to know that the Pope was guilty ; but again this
statement was shown to be untrue. Besides this, they had in
the second place demanded that the Pope's own servants
(slaves) should be brought forward as witnesses against him,
whereas there should be the same rule for ecclesiastical as
for civil trials, that slaves should not be allowed to appear
against their masters.
These Acts inform us further, that when the Pope
appeared to defend himself, his enemies fell upon him and
his attendants, so that many priests were wounded, and many
would have been killed if the three royal stewards had not
prevented it, and conveyed the Pope back to his residence
within the walls of S. Peter's.1 This occurrence was reported
by the Synod to the King, and the Pope was requested to
appear personally for the second time. He replied that he
had humbled himself at first to clear himself, and had almost
been put to death ; but that now (he would appear no more
and) the King might decide concerning what was right.2
With this agrees our second source, a letter of the Synod
to the King, thanking him for sending the three stewards.
In this the bishops say : " In our second session 3 we sent
deputies to the Pope, so that he might appear for trial. But
he answered : ' At the beginning, without any hesitation I
hastened into the meeting, and placed my privileges (of not
being judged by others) at the will of the King, recognised the
authority of the Synod, and in accordance with ecclesiastical
rule demanded the restitution of the churches and the pro-
perty of the Church; but instead of my request being
granted, I and my clergy met with cruel ill-treatment (cru-
deliter mactatus sum). I therefore no longer submit myself to
examination by the Synod, and it remains for God and the
1 The Church of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem and S. Peter's Church (in the
extreme north-west corner of Rome) are the most remote points from each
other in Rome.
2 Mansi, t. viii. p. 249 sq. ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 968 sq.
3 By ex secunda synodo the second session of the third Synod is meant, as is
shown by the context and by comparison with the contents of the next source.
In the first session of the third Synod, Symmachus had appeared, but had been
maltreated, and conducted back to his residence by the royal stewards. Later
on, in the second session, the Synod invited him to appear again, but he came
ROMAN SYNODS UNDER POPE SYMMACHUS, A.D. 501-504. 65
King to decide my case in the future.' For this reason we
sent the house-steward Arigernus to him, and he can himself
acquaint you with the answer which he received from him.
We can now do no more. According to the canons, all
bishops have a right of appeal to the Pope ; but what is to be
done when the Pope himself appeals ? We cannot pronounce
his condemnation in his absence, nor can we declare him as
guilty of obstinacy, since he (at first) presented himself before
the judges, and especially as it has never yet happened that
a Pope was tried by bishops. We have, besides, done all
that was possible to restore peace to the Church in Eome,
and have exhorted the clergy of the city to peace ; but they
have disregarded our wholesome exhortation, so that it now
remains for the King to make provision for the peace of the
Church. Finally, we ask permission to be allowed to return
home."1
The nature of the wholesome admonition referred to,
which was addressed by the Synod to the Eoman clergy, we
learn more clearly from the third source, the author of the
Vita Symwiachi. He says that the bishops (aliquanti episcopi
only according to him) repeatedly called upon the clergy who
had fallen away from Symmachus to return without delay to
his obedience ; but that they put off, and required that Sym-
machus should either clear himself of the charges against him
or be deposed from his spiritual office.2
The King was indignant with the Synod for not having
settled the controversy in hand, and for having (at the end of
their letter) even passed on the matter to him. He replied
therefore, on the 1st of October 501, that, if he had wished to
decide the controversy, he would with God's help have estab-
lished the right, and so have given peace to the present and
to the succeeding generation. But he had not regarded it as
his business de ecclesiasticis negotiis aliquid censere, and that
therefore he had convoked the bishops from different pro-
vinces and given over the whole matter to them for decision.
It was their business to decide what seemed good to them,
and not to expect from him the form of their judgment. He
1 Manai, t. viii. p. 256 ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 973 sq.
2 Muratori, I.e. p. 46 sq.
iv. 5
66 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
submitted entirely to their consideration and their conscience
the question whether they would consider the offences
charged against Symmachus as deserving punishment or not.
They might do about this as they would, and as they would
have to answer before God, only it was their business to
restore peace to the Eoman Church (by pronouncing which
was the legitimate Pope), so that no division and disorder
should remain.1
It is probable that in delivering this royal missive the
royal Anagnosticus (Lector) read a further communication
from Theoderic to the Synod which was still assembled in
Rome, which in part had the same contents with the one just
quoted, but also contained a fresh exhortation to the bishops
to judge justly and impartially. If, however, they should
come to no definite decision, this would be a bad example to
give to others and to the future.
If we rightly understand the close of this edict, the three
house-stewards were in it instructed to extend every possible
protection to Pope Symmachus in case he should be willing
to come to the Synod ; and the Synod was commanded to give
over the Lateran, as well the building as the area, to him in
whose favour their judgment might be given.2
Upon this the bishops assembled anew on the 23rd of
October 501 (where, the minutes do not say), and this is the
assembly which is called by Mansi and others the third, but
by the Acts, and with propriety, the fourth.3 Thus, e.g.,
Ennodius entitled his Apology, which he wrote for this Synod,
as Apologeticus pro Synodo quarta Romana* and it was also
called the fourth at the last Synod but one, the sixth, held
under Symmachus.5 There, too, in some MSS. it is called the
Palmaris, and is often mentioned under this name by the
ancients. An examination of the meaning of this title is
found in Baronius, and the most probable view is that the
Synod obtained this designation from the supposed place of
1 Mansi, t. viii. p. 257 ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 974.
2 Mansi, t. viii. p. 257 sq. ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 975.
3 The minutes are printed in Mansi, t. viii. p. 247 sqq. ; Hardouin, t. ii.
p. 967 sqq.
4 In Mansi, t. viii. p. 271.
8 Mansi, t. viii. p. 295 ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 983.
ROMAN SYNODS UNDER POPE SYMMACHUS, A.D. 501-504. 67
assembly, a porticu beati Petri Apostoli, quce appellatur ad
Palmaria, as Anastasius said.1 Several scholars, particularly
the Bollandist 2 and Mansi,3 give the title Palmaris to the
following Synod, which they call the fourth and we the fifth,
but in manifest contradiction to the text of the minutes of
the last Synod of this series.4
The Acts of our Synod (the fourth) begin with the state-
ment that it was held by command of King Theoderic under
the consulate of Kufus Magnus Faustus Avienus, by which,
as has already been mentioned (p. 63), we are to understand
only the one consul of the West. We must therefore read
viro darissimo consulc instead of iriris clarissimis consulibus.
Accordingly this Synod belongs to the year 501, and must
not be removed into the following year, as Baronius has done.
It is quite true that the consul for the year 502 had the
same name Eufus Magnus Faustus Avienus ; 5 but when the
latter is meant, Junior is added, whilst naturally, in the year
501, the elder Avienus was quoted simply and without the
addition of Senior, since there was at that time no Junior as
consul. But Pagi (ad ann. 503) is more astray than Baronius
when he ascribes this assembly to the year 503, arbitrarily
rejecting the chronological datum which, as we have said, is
found in the minutes, and thus makes it later than the
following Synod.
Immediately after the introduction just noticed, the Acts
of the Synodus Palmaris give first a brief historical survey of
the two previous assemblies of the same year, 501, i.e. of the
second Synod held at Easter 501 in the Church of S. Julius,
and of the third Synod held on September 1 in the Basilica
of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem. We have already related
the contents of this part. Next comes an extract from the
letter of Theoderic of October 1, mentioned above, after
which the Synod proceeds to draw up its own decrees. On
account of the high consideration of Peter which had descended
to his successors, they said, they had not ventured to pass
1 Cf. Baronius, ad ann. 502, n. 1, 2. 2 I.e. p. 640, n. 36.
3 Mansi, t. viii. p. 305.
4 Mansi, t. viiL p. 295 ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 983.
8 According to Mansi, I.e. p. 265, the latter was called Flavianus Avienus.
68 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
judgment upon the Pope, but preferred to leave this to God,
to whom all secrets were open. In regard to men, therefore,
Symmachus was freed from all the charges, and all who had
fallen away from him should return to his obedience, at the
same time almost the whole people had remained steadfast to
him. It would thus belong to Symmachus to celebrate the
holy mysteries in all the churches of his jurisdiction, and
everyone must receive the communion from him. The
clergy, moreover, who had previously separated from him,
must render him satisfaction, and then ask for forgiveness
and be reinstated in their offices. Those clergy, on the con-
trary, who should in future venture to celebrate Mass in
any sacred place in Eome without his consent should be pun-
ished as schismatics. The minutes were signed by seventy-six
bishops, at the head of whom stood Lawrence of Milan and
Peter of Eavenna.1
When the Acts of the Synod were received in Gaul, the
bishops there, being unable, in consequence of the dismember-
ment of the empire, to hold a Synod,2 commissioned Bishop
Avitus of Vienne to express his judgment on this important
matter in their name and in his own. Avitus therefore addressed
a letter to the two senators, Faustus and Symmachus. In this
letter he first complains that Christian bishops had accepted
a command from the King to sit in judgment on the Pope, but
commends them for having themselves seen the impropriety,
and expressed their sense of it. In his double capacity of
bishop and Eoman senator, he adjures his senatorial colleagues
to have the same care for the Eoman Church as for the State,
and to restore its peace.
We learn from the author of the Vita Symmachi that the
resolutions of the Synodus Palmaris unfortunately did not
obtain universal acceptance, but, on the contrary, those clerics
and senators who belonged to the opposition presented a new
memorial to the King in favour of Lawrence, who had for
1 Mansi, t. viii. p. 247 sqq. ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 967 sqq.
2 In the document to which we are indebted for this information, there is a
letter of Bishop Avitus of Vienne to the senators Faustus and Symmachus (in
Mansi, t. viii. p. 293 sqq. ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 981 sqq.), in which we must, in
the first lines, supply non between nos voti compotes and reddit.
ROMAN SYNODS UNDER POPE SYMMACHUS, A.D. 501-504. 69
some time taken up his abode in the residence city of
Ravenna, in order to be safe from Synmiachus. They repre-
sented that it was prescribed by the canons that every bishop
was bound to remain in the church for which he had been
consecrated, and that therefore Lawrence should return to
Rome and preside over the church for which he had been con-
secrated a considerable time ago. Lawrence did, in fact, return
to Rome (probably at the beginning of the year 502), and
remained there four years, during which time the strife of the
parties went on with violence, and both sides repeatedly
appealed to the King.1
In this interval falls the fifth (otherwise called the fourth)
Synod, assembled by Pope Symmachus on the 6th of Novem-
ber 502, under the consulate of the younger Avienus, in S.
Peter's Church in Rome, which, as we know, was in his hands.
Baronius regards this Synod as only a new session of the
Palmaris, proceeding upon the assumption already disproved,
that this Synod also belonged to the year 502. Pagi, how-
ever (ad ami. 502-503), has reversed the order, and placed our
fifth Synod before the Palmaris. At the very beginning of
the minutes of this Synod it is mentioned that there were
present eighty -one bishops, thirty -four priests, and four
deacons, all Italians ; whilst the subscriptions, of which Mansi
gives two copies from different MSS., contain rather fewer
names.2 These numbers were, to a large extent, the same
as at the previous Synod.
First of all, Pope Symmachus addressed the assembly,
and commended them for their previous resolutions (in the
Synodus Palmaris). He then ordered the deacon Hormisdas
to read a document which, two decades before, had been put
forth by Basil, the Prcefectiis Prcetorio under Odoacer, at an
assembly of the Roman clergy in S. Peter's Church, and con-
tained a command that they should not, after the death of
Pope Simplicius (A.D. 483), elect a successor to him without
the permission of the King. The same decree forbade every
Pope to alienate any portion of the goods and ornaments of
the churches under penalty of anathema to the vendor, and
other penalties for the purchaser. During the reading of this
1 Muratori, I.e. p. 47. '-' Mansi, t. viii. p. 265 sqq.
70 HISTOKY OF THE COUNCILS.
passage the Synod expressed its indignation that a layman
should threaten anathema to a cleric (the Pope who sold), and
several bishops of distinction, particularly Lawrence of Milan,
Peter of Eavenna, and Eulalius of Syracuse, immediately
declared this edict as invalid, because no Pope had subscribed,
and because no layman had the right to issue instructions
respecting the property of the Church. Indeed, even bishops,
according to the ancient canons, had no right to give decisions
respecting the property of the Church without the assent of
the Metropolitan or Primus (see vol. ii. sec. 113). Least of
all could a layman, when no Pope, who had the primacy of the
whole world, was present, make disposition of Church matters.
The whole Synod concurred in this judgment, and declared
the decree in question wholly invalid, and at the same time
forbade any layman, however pious or powerful, to put forth
ordinances on Church property, since the care of such things
was by God intrusted to the priesthood alone. In order,
however, to protect the property of the Church, and to shame
his enemies who had accused him of squandering it, Pope
Symmachus now published the law, that henceforth no
occupant of the apostolic see should finally dispose by sale
or exchange of any estate, small or great, belonging to the
Church, and that the proceeds of such should accrue to no
others than clerics, prisoners, and strangers ; only the houses
of the Church in cities, the maintenance of which was very
expensive, might be exchanged after a fair valuation. This
law should apply not merely to the Pope, but also to the
occupants of all particular churches in Eome, whether priests
or not. Finally, everyone selling Church property was
threatened with loss of his dignity ; every buyer, and every-
one who signed such a contract of sale as witness, with
anathema, and the clergy were authorised to claim back all
alienated Church property and its proceeds. This whole
law, however, was to apply only to Rome, and not to the
provinces, since there the local bishops had themselves to
arrange what was suitable.1
Occasion for a new Synod was given by the continued
acts of enmity committed by the opposition party. In order
1 Mansi, t. viii. p. 265 sqq. ; Hardouiu, t. ii. p. 976.
ROMAN SYNODS UNDER POPE SYMMACHUS, A.D. 501-504. 71
to destroy the importance of the fourth Synod (the Palmaris),
which had acquitted Symmachus, the opponents published a
memorial with the title : " Contra synodum absolutionis in-
congrae" (against the Synod of the improper absolution).
But Eunodius, of whom we have heard, came forward with his
Apologeticus pro Synodo quarto, Romano,.1 We learn from
this the objections which the enemies of Symmachus brought
against that Synod, namely, that all the bishops had not been
summoned by the King to the assembly, that not all who were
present had agreed in the decision, that they had not heard
the Pope's accusers (his own slaves), that the members of the
Synod had been too old, that they had not sufficiently attended
to the command of the King, and had involved themselves in
a contradiction ; since, on the one hand, they had maintained
that the Pope could not be judged by his inferiors, and yet
had brought him before them ; and, moreover, that it was
something new for a Pope to convoke a Council in order to
defend himself against accusations.
Thereupon the sixth (otherwise the fifth) Synod under
Symmachus was held at Eome after the consulate of Avienus,
as the Acts say, and so in the year 503 (the month unknown),
ante confessionem B. Petri, i.e. before the grave of S. Peter.2 At
the very beginning the memorial of Ennodius, already men-
tioned, was publicly read, universally approved, and its
preservation and introduction into the Acts of the Synod
between the minutes of the fourth and fifth assemblies
ordered, with which Symmachus entirely agreed. The mem-
bers of the Synod then demanded that the opponents and
accusers of the Pope should be punished, and saluted himself
with loud shouts of joy. He, on his part, entreated that they
would be gentle with them according to the word of Christ,
that he who wished to be forgiven by God must also forgive
his brethren. In order, however, that for the future nothing
of the kind should be attempted against a Pope, there was no
1 Printed in Mansi, t. viii. pp. 271-290. Extracted by Baronius, ad ann.
503, n. 2 ; and still better l>y Remi Ceillier, Histoire dci auteurs sacris, t. xv.
p. 643 sqq.
2 Pagi's remarks (ad ann. 503, a. 11) against the possibility of this date
(503), and in favour of 504, in opposition to the indication of time in the
minutes, are based upon his false assumptions in regard to the earlier Synods.
72 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
need, he said, for any new ordinances, since the old were
sufficient, and these were now read, confirmed anew, and
embodied in the minutes.1
At the same time, the Synod appointed the punishment
for the transgression of these laws. Again acclamations
broke out in honour of Symmachus, and all the bishops
present joined with him in subscribing.2 After the Pope
came next the bishops already mentioned, Lawrence of Milan,
Peter of Eavenna, and Eulalius of Syracuse. The MSS.
still extant give 214 names (not 218 as in the superscrip-
tion) ; but probably some subscriptions of earlier Councils
have been added by mistake to the genuine subscriptions of
this Synod, for there occur among the 214 several names of
bishops who had been present at the Council of Chalcedon
more than fifty years before.3
The last Synod of this series is called the sixth at the
beginning of the Acts, which, however, are the work of a
later collector of Councils, and not of its own secretaries.
As already shown, it was really the seventh, and was held
under the presidency of Pope Symmachus on the 1st of
October, probably in the year 504, and again in S. Peter's
Church.4 On the proposal of the Pope, the older laws
against the embezzlers of Church property, and against the
misconduct of priests, were again brought to remembrance,
and confirmed with many acclamations : " Whoever possesses
the property of the Church without permission of the bishop,
and dares to persist in possession, and conceals the property
of God from His servants, shall first be expelled from the
1 They are found also in the Corpus jur. can. c. 13, C. ii. q. 7 ; c. 3, 4,
C. ii. q. 2 ; c. 3, C. iii. q. 1 ; c. 7, C. xii. q. 2 ; and c. 3, C. iii. q. 5. In
Corpus jur. can. these passages are ascribed to Popes Eusebitis, John I., Nicolas,
and Stephen (only the last to our Symmachus). But this is the work of pseudo-
Isidore, and we see from this example his manner of putting later ordinances
then in force into the mouths of earlier Popes. Cf. my Essay on pseudo-Isidore
in the Tubinger Theolog. Quartalschr. 1847, S. 592, and in Wetzer and Welte's
Kirchenlexicon, s.v.
- Mansi, t. viii. p. 295 sqq. ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 983 sqq.
3 Cf. Baronius, adann. 503, n. 9 ; Mansi, I.e. p. 303, nota b ; Remi Ceillier,
I.e. p. 643.
* Pagi (ad ann. 504, n. 2) also decides for the year 504. So Baronius, ad ann.
504, n. 3 ; Remi Cellier, I.e. p. 648.
ROMAN SYNODS UNDER POPE SYMMACHUS, A.D. 501-504. 73
Church by the bishop of the place. Those who do not amend
are to be regarded and punished as murderers of the poor.
But the punishment must be preceded by a clear admonition.
Moreover, the excuse is inadmissible, that anyone possesses
ecclesiastical property as a present from the King or any
other secular power." Upon this the 7th and 8th canons
of Gangra in reference to the property of the Church (see
vol. ii. p. 327 sqq.) were repeated and explained, that it was a
gross sacrilege if Christians, and especially Christian rulers
and princes, should alienate to others what someone, for his
soul's health, had presented to the Church ; and all were
threatened with eternal anathema who should unrighteously
possess or accept Church property, or should give, lend, or
bequeath it to their heirs.1
The minutes of this Synod, which are drawn up at
unusual length, were signed by the Pope and 103 other
bishops. Some MSS. have still more subscriptions ; but
in these the names of the bishops as well as of their sees
are given incorrectly.2 Immediately after the Pope, in this
case, came the signature of Peter, bishop of Eavenna. But
Lawrence of Milan does not appear, although he was still
alive, and did not die until the year 512. We know, more-
over, from Cassiodorus,3 that King Theoderic regarded the
decisions of the Synod as valid, and recommended the restora-
tion to the church of Milan of the property of which it had
been deprived. In like manner, we have an edict from this
King, dated March 11, 507, in which he declared the similar
ordinance of the fifth Synod to be binding.4
There is mention of another, the eighth Koinan Synod
under Symmachus, which anathematised the antipope and
the visitator. It was discovered by Eemi Ceillier (I.e. p. 649)
in Anastasius. He says : " Anastase fait mention d'un Con-
cile de Koine sous Symmaque, ou il dit que ce Pape fut absous
par 115 EvSques, et Pierre d'Altino, nomine Visiteur par
1 Mansi, t. viii. p. 309 sqq. ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 989 sqq.
2 Mansi, t. viii. p. 316.
3 Var. ii. Ep. 29. So Baronius, ad ann. 504, n. 4, and Binius (in Mansi
I.e. p. 316) remarked.
4 In Mansi, t. viii. p. 345 ; Hardouiu, t. ii. p. 963.
74 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
Theoderic, condamne avec Laurent, competiteur de Sym-
maque, inais Ennode n'en parle pas dans son Apologetique,
ni Symmaque dans le sien. Auroient - ils oublie* Tun et
1'autre un jugement qui ne pouvoit que fortifier leur cause ? "
Remi Ceiller might, with still greater propriety, have appealed
to a document of the year 506, in which the Roman deacon
John, who had hitherto taken the side of the opposition,
declares his submission to Symmachus in the words : " Con-
sentiens quce veneranda Synodus judicavit atque constituit,
anathematizans Petrum Altinatem et Laurentium Romanes
ecclesise pervasorem schismaticum." l
It cannot be denied that another Synod, the eighth, shortly
before the year 506, may have pronounced the sentence of
condemnation on the visitator and the pretender to the
papacy, but it is more probable that this took place at the
Synodics Palmaris, or one of the Synods immediately succeed-
ing. If Symmachus was recognised as the only genuine Pope,
as was done in the Palmaris, the rejection of his opponents
was the natural consequence. We must not, however, forget
that the Synodus Palmaris was subscribed by only 7 6 bishops,
whilst Anastasius assigns 115 to his Synod. Often, how-
ever, the subscriptions are not complete, or at least have not
come down to us complete.
On the issue of the conflict between Pope Symmachus
and his opponents, no other Council gives us any information,
nor any ancient document except the anonymous Vita Sym-
machi. We learn here that four years after the return of
the Antipope Lawrence, namely, in A.D. 505 or 506, Sym-
machus after many attempts succeeded in bringing the King
over to his side, and this through the mediation of the
Alexandrian deacon Dioscurus, whom he had sent to him
for that purpose. Theoderic now commanded that all the
churches in Rome should be given over to Symmachus, and
that he alone must be recognised as bishop of this city.2
Upon this, it is said, Lawrence, in order to avoid further dis-
turbances, had of his own accord withdrawn to an estate in
1 Mansi, t. viii. p. 344 ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 963.
- About this time, too, the Roman deacon John, as we have already seen,
made his submission to Symmachus.
BYZACENE SYNOD, A.D. 504 Oil 507. 75
the country, and ended his days here as a severe ascetic.
Nevertheless the schism in the Roman Church lasted to the
death of Symmachus, because he, although now victorious,
had in many ways stained his good name, particularly by
ordaining for money.1 He also caused the Church of S.
Martin by S. Silvester to be built, adorned, and dedicated
at the expense of Palatinus, a highly respected man ; and,
besides, he had several cemeteries restored, particularly
that of S. Pancratius, and several new ones built.2
Symmachus did not die until the year 514, and during
his pontificate several other Councils were held outside
Borne.
SEC. 221. Byzacene Synod, A.D. 504 or 507.
It is customary to assign the Byzacene Synod (in the African
province of that name, south of Carthage) to the year 504.
But Labbe, even in his time, thought it more correct to place
it in the year 507, because Fulgentius of Ruspe was made
bishop soon after the Synod, and his elevation belonged to
the year 507 or 508.3 Moreover, he also rightly drew
attention to the fact that the assembly was not properly a
Council, but only a conference of some African bishops. The
only source from which we draw information respecting this
Council is the disciple and biographer of S. Fulgentius of
lluspe, the deacon Fulgentius Ferrandus, and he relates that
at the time when the Vandal and Arian King Thrasamund
exiled the largest number of the orthodox bishops of
Africa, and forbade others to ordain, those who still
remained had formed the resolution, in spite of this pro-
hibition, to care for the orphaned churches, and that in conse-
quence many priests and deacons were in all haste consecrated
bishops.4
1 We must not forget that the author of the Vita was a violent opponent of
Symmachus. See above, p. 59.
2 In Muratori, I.e. p. 47.
3 The year in which Fulgentius was ordained cannot be determined with
certainty. It is supposed to have been between 505 and 508. Compare the
examination of the Ballerini in their Observations in Norisii Opp. t. iv. p. 933.
4 Mansi, t. viii. p. 317. Wanting in Hardouiu.
76 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
SEC. 222. Synod at Agde (Agatha), A.D. 506.
Of greater importance is the Concilium Agathense, which was
celebrated at Agde in South Gaul, near the shore of the Mediter-
ranean Sea, in the province of Languedoc, in September 506.
There were thirty-five bishops present, and thirty-four sub-
scribed.1 At their head, as is shown by the subscription,
stood Archbishop Caesarius of Aries, and in a short preface
to the canons the bishops state that they had met in S.
Andrew's Church at Agde with the permission of the West
Gothic (Arian) King Alaric, in order to take counsel on
discipline, on the ordination of clergy and bishops, and on
matters useful to the Church.2 In the Collections of the
Councils there are ordinarily seventy-one canons of this
Synod published, which were regarded as genuine by Gratian,
and which he received almost in their complete form into
his Decretum. Besides, we find both in his works and in the
older collections of Burchard of Worms and Ivo of Chartres,
some other canons ascribed to this Synod.3 But it was
pointed out by Sirmond that only forty-seven belong to it ; all
the others are lacking in the oldest manuscripts of the Conciliar
Acts, and proceed from other Synods, although they were at
an early period placed among the canons of Agde.4 The forty-
seven genuine canons have the following content : —
I. After the reading of the earlier ordinances, De digamis
non ordinandis, particularly of the 1st canon of the Synod of
Valence, A.D. 374 (see vol. ii. p. 289), the Council softened
the ancient harshness to the extent that those Bigami or
husbands of widows who had already been ordained, should
retain the title (dignity) of the presbyterate and diaconate,
but that such priests should not consecrate (say Mass), and
such deacons should not serve (at the altar).
1 Remi Ceillier, Hisloire des auteurs sacrte, etc., t. xv. p. 656, gives
erroneously eighty-four.
2 Mansi, t. viii. p. 323 ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 997 ; Sirmond, Concilia Oallise,
t. i. p. 161.
3 Mansi, I.e. p. 338 sqq.
4 Of. Sirmond, Concilia Gallix, t. i. p. 170 ; Mansi, I.e. pp. 333 and 340,
nota 6 ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1003, note after can. 47 ; Eemi Ceillier, I.e. p.
656 sq.
SYNOD AT AGDE (AGATHA), A.D. 50G. 77
2. Disobedient clerics were to be punished by the bishop.
If any among them should presumptuously despise the com-
munion (of the bishop), not attend the church, and not fulfil
their office, the peregrina communio should be given to them
until they return. Remi Ceillier (I.e. p. 657), under reference
to the dissertation of Jacobus Dominicus, De communione pere-
grina, explains this expression thus : They were, like strange
clergy, to communicate after the rest of the clergy, but before
the laity. This explanation, however, is incorrect. The
true meaning is recognised by Aubespine, and after him by
Bingham, who has written a whole dissertation on this term.1
They remark that just as strangers, even when they have no
letters of peace, were yet provided with all that was necessary,
and were received into the communio benignitatis, but not to
the communio altaris? so they dealt temporarily with dis-
obedient clerics, in order to reform them, and that this
temporary exclusion from the church was a much slighter
punishment than the permanent removal into communio
laicalis? The same explanation is given by Bohmer in his
edition of the Corpus jur. can. in the note to c. 21, Dist. 50,
where we find our canon of Gratian adduced.
3. If a bishop has excommunicated anyone who is
innocent, or who has committed only a very slight fault, the
neighbouring bishops should advise him ; and if he does not
comply, they should not, at the next Synod, deny the com-
munion to the excommunicated person, so that he may not
through the fault of others die without this. (In the old
collection of Church ordinances of Burchard, the end of this
canon runs as follows : " If the bishop will not follow his
colleagues, they shall exclude him from their communion
until the next Synod.") In the Corpus jur. can. our canon is
c. 8, Causa xi. q. 3.
4. Clerics and laymen who take back presents made to the
Church or to a monastery by their ancestors or themselves,
1 Origines, etc., t. viii. p. 27 sqq., t. ii. p. 200 [Bk. v. c. 1, S. 3 ; xv. c. 5 ;
xvii. c. 2].
2 See vol. i. p. 471; Apost. Canon. 34.
3 In this sense communio peregrina is used also in c. 3 of the Synod of Eiez
(vol. iii.), and in c. 16 of the Synod of Lerida, A.D. 524. See below, sec. 237.
78 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
shall be excommunicated as murderers of the poor. See
above, sec. 220 ; cf. c. 11, C. xiii. q. 2.
5. If a cleric has stolen anything from the church, he
shall be removed into communio pcrigrina (cf. c. 2). In the
Corpus jur. can. this canon is united with the previous one as
c. 11, C. xiii. q. 2.
6. What is left or presented to a bishop, whether to him
and the Church alike or to him alone, belongs, not to the
bishop as personal property, but is the property of the
Church ; for the giver meant to care for the salvation of his
soul, not for the use of the bishop. Justice also requires
that, as the bishop enjoys that which is bequeathed to the
Church, so the Church should have what is presented to the
bishop. If, however, anything is left in trust to the bishop or
to the Church, with the intention of its coming afterwards to
another, the Church must not retain this as property, cf. c. 3,
C. xii. q. 3. This canon was repeated in c. 20 of the
Synod of Eeims, A.D. 625.
7. No bishop shall alienate the buildings, slaves, or
furniture belonging to the Church, because they are the pro-
perty of the poor. In case of its being necessary, however,
to give anything, in the interest of the Church, for sale or
for usufruct, this can be done only with the consent and sub-
scription of two or three neighbouring comprovincial bishops.
Moreover, if a bishop grants their liberty to any slaves who
have made themselves deserving of it, his successors must
respect this act, and must also leave them that which his
predecessor had presented to them in fields, vineyards, and
dwelling, only that it must not exceed twenty solidi in value.
If what was given is worth more, the excess must be restored
after the death of the emancipator. Insignificant and less
useful goods of the Church may be given to strangers and
clerics for usufruct, with reservation of the Church's right of
possession. Cf. c. 1, C. x. q. 2.
8. If a cleric leaves his office and has recourse to a secular
judge on account of (ecclesiastical) punishment (i.e. to escape
it), then he and the judge who admits him shall be excom-
municated. Cf. c. 1,0. xxi. q. 5.
9. If married deacons or priests wish to return to the
SYNOD AT AGDE (AGATHA), A.D. 500. 79
nuptial couch, the ordinances of Popes Innocent and Siricius
shall apply. For this reason the Ordinatio Innoccntii, which
also includes the older ordinance of Siricius, was appended to
this canon. Both require that such incontinent clerics shall
be deprived of all ecclesiastical dignities and offices. Only
those who did not know that the continuance of marital
intercourse was forbidden, may be allowed to retain their
office, if they abstain for the future.
10. A cleric must not visit strange women nor have
them in his house ; and he must live only with his mother,
or sister, or daughter, or niece.
11. Female slaves also and freedwomen must be removed
from the service and from the house of a cleric.
12. All members of the Church must fast daily during
Lent, even on Saturdays, Sundays alone being excepted. Of.
c. 9, De Consecrat. Dist. iii.
13. In all churches the sacrament of baptism is to be
administered to the candidates on the same day, namely,
eight days before Easter. Cf. c. 56, De Consecrat. Dist. iv.
14. The altars are not only to be anointed with chrism,
but are also to be blessed. Cf. c. 32, De Consecrat. Dist. i.
1 5. Penitents l shall receive from the priest the imposition
of hands and a cilicium upon the head. If, however, they do
not cut off their hair and change their clothes, they must be
rejected. Young people, on account of the weakness of their age,
must not lightly be admitted to penance. But the Viaticum is
not to be refused to anyone who is near death. Cf. c. 63, Dist. 1.
16. The bishop must ordain no one a deacon who is not
twenty-five years old. If a young married man wishes to be
ordained, he must be asked whether his wife also agrees, and
is willing to depart from her husband's abode and practise
continence.2 Cf. c. 6, Dist. Ixxvii.
1 By penitents we are to understand not only such as are condemned by the
Church to public penance, but also those who, from repentance for their sins
committed in secular life, make a vow (profexsio) of continence, and are often
also called conversi. Cf. c. 16 and (above, sec. 164) c. 21, below (sec. 224), c. 11
of the first Synod of Orleans. On Viaticum, cf. (sec. 229) c. 9 of the Synod of
Gerunde. On the meaning of our canon, cf. Frank, Die Bussdisciplin der Kirche
(The Penitential Discipline of the Church), Mainz 1867, S. 497 and 596.
- Conversio is here and often equivalent to professio continentite. Cf. c. 22
80 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
17. A priest or bishop must be thirty years old before
being ordained. (Gratian has united this canon with the
previous one in c. 6, Dist. Ixxvii.)
18. Laymen who do rot communicate at Christmas,
Easter, and Pentecost are not to be regarded as Catholics.
Cf. c. 19, De Consecrat. Dist. ii.
19. Nuns (Sanctimoniales), however their morals may be
approved, must not receive the veil before they are forty
years old. Cf. c. 13, C. xx. q. 1.
20. If clerics are careful of their hair, it must be cut off'
even against their will by the archdeacon ; and they must
wear only becoming clothes and shoes. Cf. c. 22, Dist.
xxiii.
21. Divine service may be held in oratories, but not at
Easter, Christmas, Epiphany, the Ascension of Christ, Pente-
cost, the Nativity of S. John the Baptist, or other great
festivals. On these days all must attend the parochial
service. The ecclesiastic who says Mass on those days in an
oratory is excommunicated. Cf. c. 35, De Consecrat. Dist. i.
22. Priests and clerics in towns, etc., may spend for
themselves the Church property which the bishop has assigned
to them, but they are not to sell it or give it away. Cf. c.
32, C. xii. q. 2.
23. A bishop must not with partiality pass over a
blameless cleric and prefer a younger to him. If, however,
the elder is not fitted for the archidiaconate, then the better
qualified for the administration of the Church should be
chosen by the bishop. Cf. c. 5, Dist. Ixxiv.
24. In regard to children exposed, the ordinance of the
older Council (of Vaison, c. 9, above, sec. 163) remains in force.
25. Laymen who separate themselves from their unfaith-
ful wives without having waited for the sentence of the com-
provincial bishops, in order unlawfully to enter into other
unions, must be excluded from Church communion and from
intercourse with the faithful. Cf. c. 1, C. xxxiii. q. 2,
and c. 2 of the Council of Vannes, A.D. 465 ; see above, sec.
211.
of the Synod of Orange, and c. 43 of the Synod of Aries, A.D. 443 (sec. 162).
Du Cange, Glossar. s.h.v.
SYNOD AT AGDE (AGATHA), A.D. 500. 81
26. If a cleric secretes or suppresses documents by
which the Church can prove her right to a possession, or
delivers them up to her opponents, he shall be excommuni-
cated, and condemned to pay an indemnity. And the same
shall be done to anyone who has tempted him to it. Of. c.
33, C. xii. q. 2.
27. No one is allowed to build or found a new convent
without permission of the bishop. Monks are not to be
ordained clerics without a testimonial from their abbot ; and
no abbot must receive a strange monk unless his abbot gives
his permission. Cf. c. 12, C. xviii. q. 2.
28. Women's convents must not be placed in the neigh-
bourhood of men's convents, as well because of the cunning
of Satan as because of the evil report of men. Cf. c. 23,
C. xviii q. 2.
29. The Church shall protect those who have been
regularly liberated by their masters. Cf. c. 7, Dist.
Ixxxvii.
30. Divine service shall everywhere be held in the same
manner. After the Antiphons, the Collects shall be said by
the bishops or priests, the hymni matutini and vespertini be
daily sung. At the close of matins and vespers (which are
here called Missce, see above, sec. 219), after the hymns,
chapters out of the Psalms shall be said, and the people
after the vesper prayer shall be dismissed by the bishop
with a blessing. Cf. c. 13, De Consecrat. Dist. v.
31. Those who for a long time have enmity with one
another shall first be admonished by the priest, and if they
persist, shall be excommunicated. Cf. c. 9, Dist. xl.
32. A cleric must not without permission of the bishop
sue anyone before the secular judge. If he is himself sued
in this manner, he may answer ; but he himself must bring
no charge, least of all a criminal accusation, before the secular
judge. If, however, a layman has falsely accused a cleric, he
shall be excluded from the Church, and from the communion
of Catholics. Gratian out of this canon made two, namely,
c. 17, C. xi. q. 1, and c. 8, C. v. q. 6 ; but he brought in non
before respondeat, so as to give this meaning : "If a cleric
is summoned before a secular tribunal, he must not answer."
iv. 6
82 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
But in all the old and good MSS. the negation is wanting,
as Sirmond assures us.1
33. If a bishop has no sons or grandsons, and appoints
anyone save the Church his heir, then all that he has derived
from the revenues of his Church and not spent for ecclesi-
astical purposes, and so saved, shall be deducted from what
he has left. If, however, he has left sons, these shall see the
Church unharmed in regard to the inheritance (by giving up
a portion of it). Cf. c. 34, C. xii. q. 2.
34. If Jews wish to become Catholics, since they may so
readily return to their vomit, they must remain eight months
as catechumens before they can be baptized. Only if they
come near to death may they receive baptism earlier. Cf. c.
93, De Cotiseerat. Dist. iv.
35. If the metropolitan summons the comprovincial
bishops either to the ordination of a bishop or to a Synod,
they must appear on the day appointed. Only serious illness
or the command of the king excuses. If they do not appear,
they remain, in accordance with the ancient canons, excluded
from communion until the next Synod. Cf. above, sec. 113,
c. 11 of the sixth Synod of Carthage; and sec. 200, note on
c. 20 of the Synod of Chalcedon ; also below, sec. 229, c. 6
of the Synod of Tarragona, where the idea of the excommuni-
cation here threatened is more fully discussed. In Corpus
jur. can. our canon appears as c. 13, Dist. xviiL
36. All clerics who faithfully serve the Church shall be
rewarded by the bishops after their deserving, and in accord-
ance with the ordinances of the canons. Cf. c. 10, C. i.
q. 2.
37. Murderers and false witnesses must be excluded
from Church communion, unless they have expiated their
crimes by penance and satisfaction. Compare c. 1 of the
Synod of Vannes, above, sec. 211; and c. 20, C. xxiv.
q. 3.
38. Clerics must not travel without the epistolce com-
mendatitice of the bishop. So also the monks ; and if they
do not attend to this admonition, they must be beaten.
Monks are not allowed to separate from the community and
1 In Concilia Gallise, t. i. p. 601 ; in Mansi, t. viii. p. 340.
SYNOD AT AGDE (AGATHA), A.D. 506. 83
occupy separate cells (huts), unless when they are under pro-
bation or in case of sickness, when the abbot may soften the
stringency of the rule for them. But even then they
must (in their separate cells) remain within the walls of the
monastery and under the supervision of the abbot. The
abbots must not have several cells or monasteries. Only in
case of hostile attacks they may (outside the monastery) erect
residences inside the walls of a city. The same was ordained
by the Synod of Vannes, A.D. 465, in canons 5 to 8 ; see
above sec. 211. Gratian has our canon as c. 43, C. xx.
q. 4.
39. Priests, deacons, subdeacons, or others not permitted
to marry, must not be present at the marriages of others, nor
in companies where erotic and indecent songs are sung, etc.
A repetition of c. 11 of the Council of Vannes (sec. 211),
and cf. c, 19, Dist. xxxiv.
40. Clerics and laity must not participate in the meals
of the Jews. — This is forbidden by the Synod of Vannes
(c. 12) to the clergy alone. In Gratian this canon stands as
c. 14, C. xxviii. q. 1.
41. A clergyman who gets intoxicated must, as far as
his position permits, be excommunicated for thirty days, or
corporally chastised. Cf. c. 13 of the Synod of Vannes, and
c. 9, Dist. xxxv.
42. Clerics and laymen who meddle with the sortes
sanctorum must be excluded from the church. Cf. c. 16 of
the Synod of Vannes (sec. 211), and c. 2, C. xxvi. q. 5.
43. Whoever has undergone ecclesiastical penance is for-
bidden, in accordance with previous synodal ordinances (cf.
sec. 112), to become a cleric. If he is already ordained, he
shall be regarded like one who has married a second time, or
a widow. — If a priest, he is not to consecrate ; if a deacon,
he is not to serve (see above, c. 1). Our canon is found out
of place, and combined with the following one in Gratian, c. 3,
C. xxvi. q. 6.
44. The priest must not bless the people and the peni-
tents in the church. Cf. c. 3, C. xxvi. q. 6.
45. Small fields and vineyards which are of small use to
the Church, and are situated at a distance, may be alienated
84 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
by the bishop without consulting his brethren. — This is an
abridgment of c. 7. Keceived by Gratian into c. 53, C. xii.
q. 2.
46. Slaves also who have run away, and who, when
recovered, can scarcely be retained, the bishop is at liberty to
sell. Cf. c. 54, C. xii. q. 2.
47. On Sundays all laymen must be present at the whole
Mass, so that they are not allowed to depart before the bless-
ing. If, nevertheless, they do so, they shall be publicly
censured by the bishop. Cf. c. 64, De Consecrat. Dist. i.
So far the genuine canons of the Synod of Agde extend.
In addition, as we have remarked, there are others ascribed
to this Synod, as follows : —
48. The bishop may leave to his heirs what belonged to
him as private property. But what he received from the
Church must remain to the Church. Cf. c. 19, C. xii.
q. 1.
49. Deacons and priests who are appointed to a parish
may not alienate anything of the ecclesiastical property
intrusted to them. So with the sacerdotes (bishops). If,
nevertheless, they do so, and if they are convicted of it in a
Council, they are to be deposed, and they must make restitu-
tion. If, however, the bishops wish to give liberty to any
belonging to the churches under their care (i.e. slaves which
are Church property), they must in doing so follow the process
prescribed by the Church. If they fail in this, they (who
were freed) must return to their former service. Gratian
divided this canon into two, c. 35 and c. 56, C.
xii q. 2.
50. If a bishop, priest, or deacon has committed a capital
offence, has falsified a document, or given false witness, he
shall be deposed, and imprisoned in a monastery, where for his
whole life he shall receive only lay communion. — This is c.
22 of the Synod of Epaon (sec. 231), below, and is found in
the Corpus jur. can. as c. 7, Dist. 1.
51. A bishop must not bequeath by will any Church
property. — This is c. 17 of the Synod of Epaon, taken into
the Corpus jur. can. as c. 5, C. xii q. 5.
52. If a priest, or deacon, or any other cleric travels
SYNOD AT AGDE (AGATHA), A.D. 506. 85
without a letter from his bishop, no one is to receive him to
communion. — This is c. 6 of the Synod of Epaon.
53. If a parish priest (parochiarum presbyter) alienates
any Church property, his act is invalid. Cf. c. 36, C. xii.
q. 2.
54. The priest who administers a parish l should allow
what he purchases to be put down in the name of the Church,
or he should resign the administration of the Church. — This
is c. 8 of the Synod of Epaon, and is placed by Gratian as c.
3, C. xii. q. 4.
55. Bishops, priests, and deacons are not allowed to have
hunting hounds and falcons. The bishop who does so shall
abstain three months from the communion, the priest two
months, the deacon shall be excluded for one month from all
service and from the communion. — This is c. 4 of the Synod
of Epaon. In Gratian, c. 2, Dist. xxxiv.
56. If an abbot sells anything without the bishop's know-
ledge, it may be recovered by the bishop. Slaves who belong
to monks must not be set free by the abbot ; for it is unfit-
ting that, whilst the monks daily till the ground, their
servants should be idle. — This is a portion of the 8th canon
of Epaon. In Gratian, c. 40, C. xvii. q. 4.
57. An abbot must not preside over two abbeys. Cf.
above, c. 38 and c. 39 of Epaon; also c. 4, C. XXL q. 1.
58. New cells (small monasteries) or small congregations
of monks may not be set up without the knowledge of the
bishop. — This is c. 10 of Epaon. In Gratian, c. 13, C.
xviii. q. 2.
59. If a cleric has possession of Church property ever so
long, it does not become his private property. — This is c. 18
of Epaon. In Gratian, c. 11, C. xvi. q. 3.
60. Punishment of one who has lapsed from the Church
and gone over to a heresy. — This is c. 29 of Epaon.
61. Incestuous unions are entirely prohibited. The
different kinds of incest are enumerated in detail. — This is c.
30 of Epaon. In Gratian, c. 5, C. xxxv. q. 2 and 3.
1 Dioecesis and ecclesia dioecesana are often used in the sense of parish and
ecde&ia parochicdis and ruralis. Cf. cc. 7 and 8 of the Synod of Tarragona
(sec. 516), and Du Cange, Glossar. s.v. Dioecesis.
86 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
6 2. = c. 34 of Epaon.
6 3. = c. 35 of Epaon.
64. If a cleric is not present in his church on the great
festivals, he shall be excommunicated for three years ; and so
also the priest or deacon who leaves his church for three
weeks. Cf. c. 29, C. vii. q. 1.
65. = c. 20 of Laodicea (in vol. ii). In Gratian, c. 15,
Dist. xciii.
66. Unordained servers must not take a place in the
Diaconicum, nor touch the holy vessels. This is identical with
c. 21 of Laodicea (vol. ii. p. 313); only that here the refer-
ence is only to insacratis ministris, whilst at Laodicea it is to
servers (subdeacons) generally. Cf. c. 26, Dist. xxiii.
67. = c. 31 of Laodicea (vol. ii. p. 316).
68. = c. 36 of Laodicea (vol. ii. p. 318).
69. Agitators must never be ordained, nor yet usurers
or such as have taken personal vengeance. Cf. c. 8, Dist.
xlvi.
70. A cleric who makes a buffoon of himself, or talks
obscenely must be discharged from his office. Cf. c. 6,
Dist. xlvi.
71. Synods shall be held annually.1
Some other canons supposed to proceed from the Synod
of Agde are found in the Corpus jur. can. c. 25, Dist. Ixxxvi.;
c. 4, C. xiv. q. 3; and c. 12, C. ii. q. 4. Further, in
the old collections of Ivo and Burchard, in Mansi, I.e. p.
338 sqq.
SEC. 223. Supposed Synod at Toulouse, Conciliabulum at
Antioch, A.D. 507 and 508.
Euricius, the aged bishop of Lemovicum (Limoges), was
not present at the Synod of Agde on account of bodily
infirmity. From the correspondence which took place
between him and the president of the Synod, Archbishop
Caesarius of Aries, we learn that in the following year (507)
a Synod was held at Toulouse (situated, like Agde, in the
West Gothic kingdom), and that Spanish bishops also were
1 Mansi, t. viii. p. 323 sqq.; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 997 sqq.
FIRST SYNOD OF ORLEANS, A.D. 511. 87
invited to it.1 In consequence of this many, especially of
the older historians, suppose a Synod of Toulouse to have
been held A.D. 507, without giving any further information
about it. But Baluze even in his time showed 2 that such a
Synod could not have been held, since at that very time the
Frankish King Chlodwig overcame the Gothic King Alaric II.
in war and killed him (507), so that the West Gothic king-
dom, full of the noise of war, afforded no facility for peaceful
discussions at Synods.
Theophanes gives us intelligence of an Antiochene Con-
ciliabulum, A.D. 508 or 509. At the command of the Greek
Emperor Anastasius, Flavian, archbishop of Antioch, had
shortly before signed the infamous Henoticon of the Emperor
Zeno (see vol. iii. sec. 208), and now assembled the bishops
who were under him at a Synod, the decree of which, now
lost, solemnly recognised the Synods of Nicaea, Constantinople,
and Ephesus, but passed over that of Chalcedon in silence ;
pronounced anathemas over Diodorus of Tarsus and Theodore
of Mopsuestia ; and put forth four chapters (propositions),
presumably the work of Acacius of Constantinople, which, in
opposition to the doctrine of Chalcedon, combat the expression
" in two natures." 3
SEC. 224. First Synod of Orleans, A.D. 511.
After Clovis (Chlodwig), king of the Franks, had con-
quered the portion of the West Gothic kingdom which lay
in Gaul (507 and 508), he summoned a great Synod to
Orleans, Aurelianensis I., on the 10th of July 511, at which
there were present not only bishops of the Frankish, but also
of the former West Gothic kingdom, altogether thirty two,
among them five metropolitans, Cyprian of Bordeaux (prob-
ably president of the Synod), Tetradius of Bourges, Licinius
of Tours, Leontius of Elusa (Eauze), and Gildared of Eouen.
Many of those present had been members of the Synod of
Agde, from which many canons were now repealed at
Orleans. That Chlodwig had invited the bishops to the
1 Mansi, t. viii. p. 343. 2 Mansi, t. viii. p 347.
3 Mansi, t. viii. p. 347; Pagi, Critica in Annales Earonii, ad ann. 510X n. 2.
88 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
Synod is stated in the short preface which they prefixed
to the minutes, and is clear also from the letter of the
Synod to Chlodwig, which mentions that he had also pre-
scribed the points on which they should take counsel, and
that the bishops had asked for the confirmation of their
decrees by the King.1 These were the thirty-one canons
which followed : —
1. If murderers, adulterers, and thieves have taken
refuge in the church, then, in accordance with canonical and
Eoman law, they are not to be taken from the porch of the
church or the residence of the bishop until an assurance has
been given by an oath on the Gospels that they shall be free
from all punishments (de omni pcenarum genere sint securi),
on the condition that the guilty one shall give satisfaction to
the injured party. Whoever breaks this oath shall be
excluded from the Church and from all intercourse with
Catholics. If, however, the offender will not agree to the
demand laid down, and from fear flies from the church, then
he shall not be required of the clergy of the church, that is,
they shall not be held responsible for him. Gratian united
this 'canon and the third as c. 36, C. xvii. q. 4, in his
decree.
2. If anyone has ravished a woman and flies with her
into the church (for asylum), then the ravished person, if she
has been manifestly subjected to violence, must immediately
be set at liberty. The ravisher, however, shall be secured
for further punishment, and shall either be made a slave, or
he must purchase his release from slavery. If, however, the
maiden has either before or after the seduction consented to
it, then she shall be sent back to her father if he is still
alive, with an excuse (for her deed), and the ravisher must
afford satisfaction to the father in the manner prescribed (i.e.
become his slave, or purchase his freedom from him).2 In
the Corpus jur. can. c. 3, C. xxxvi. q. 1.
1 Mansi, t. viii. p. 350 ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1008 ; Sirmond, Concilia Gallise,
t. i. p. 177.
2 Remi Ceillier, I.e. p. 670, has quite erroneously interpreted the close of
this canon, as though the father in such a case had no claim on the ravisher of
his daughter. The true meaning was seen by Bohmer in his Note 30* to this
passage in the Corpus jur. can.
FIRST SYNOD OF ORLEANS, A.D. 511. 89
3. If a slave has taken refuge in the church, he shall, if
his master has taken the required oath (can. 1), be immedi-
ately sent back to him. If the master does not keep his
oath, he shall be excluded from all intercourse with Catholics.
If, however, the slave, in spite of his master having taken
the oath for impunity, refuses to leave the church, then his
master may remove him by force. Cf. c. 36, C. xvii. q. 4.
4. No layman is to be ordained a cleric except by com-
mand of the King, or with concurrence of the judge.
Nevertheless, the sons and descendants of clerics shall remain
in the power of the bishops (i.e. such may be ordained with-
out permission from any other quarter).
5. The products of gifts and fields granted by the King
to the Church, together with the immunity of the clergy,
shall be expended on the repairs of churches, the maintenance
of the clergy and the poor, or for the redemption of prisoners.
Bishops who are negligent herein shall be publicly censured
by the comprovincial bishops ; and if this does not avail, they
shall be excluded from the fellowships of their colleagues.
(On the meaning of this expression, cf. vol. iii. p. 406, note
1 on can. 20 of Chalcedon).
6. Whoever makes claims upon a portion of the Church's
property, or of the bishop's private property, but in a proper
manner, without insults, is not from this circumstance alone
to be excluded from Church communion. Cf. c. 20, C. ii.
q. 7.
7. Abbots, priests, and all clerics and monks may not,
without trial and recommendation by the bishop, solicit
princes for ecclesiastical benefices. Whoever does so shall
be deprived of his office and of communion until such time
as he has done adequate penance.
8. If a slave, without knowledge of his master, has been
ordained deacon or priest by the bishop to whom his servile
condition was known, he shall remain in his clerical position,
but the bishop must make double reparation for him to that
master. But if the bishop was not aware of his being a
slave, then the same compensation shall be made by those
who gave testimony at his ordination (that he was free), or
asked for his ordination. Cf. c. 19, Dist. liv.
90 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
9. If a deacon or priest has committed a capital offence,
he shall be deprived of his office, and of communion at the
same time. Cf. c. 14, Dist. Ixxxi.
10. If heretical clerics return of their own accord to the
Church, for instance, from the Arian Goths, they shall receive
the clerical office of which the bishop has thought them
worthy with ordination by imposition of hands ; and heretical
churches shall be consecrated in the same manner in which
Catholic churches are wont to be reconciled (innovari).
11. Penitents (ascetics; cf. note on c. 15 of the Synod
of Agde, sec. 506, above) who forget their vow and return to
the secular life, shall be excluded from the communion, and
from all intercourse with Catholics. Whoever eats with them
is by that act excommunicated.
12. If a deacon or presbyter has entered among the
penitents to do penance (see former canon), he may never-
theless, if need arises and no other clergy are at hand,
baptize anyone. Cf. c. 14, Dist. Ixxxi.
13. If the widow of a priest or deacon marries again,
they shall both, she and her second husband, either be
punished and separated, or, if they persist in their error,
they shall together be excommunicated. Cf. c. 11, Dist.
xxviii.
14. In accordance with the ancient canons, one-half of
the oblations placed upon the altar shall belong to the
bishop, the other half to the rest of the clergy. All fields,
however, remain in the power (administration) of the bishop.
Cf. c. 8, C. x. q. 1.
15. All that is presented to parishes in fields, vineyards,
slaves, and cattle, remains, in accordance with the ancient
canons, in the power (administration) of the bishop. From
that which is offered on the altar, however, he receives the
third part (i.e. of the offering in the parish churches he
receives only the third part, of the offering in the cathedral,
according to can. 14, the half). Cf. c. 7, C. x. q. 1.
16. The bishop shall give food and clothing to the poor
or sick who can no longer work, as far as he can. Cf. c. 1,
Dist. Ixxxii
17. Churches, whether already built or yet to be built,
FIRST SYNOD OF ORLEANS, A.D. 511. 91
can be recognised only with the consent of the bishop in
whose diocese they lie. Cf. c. 10, C. xvl q. 7.
18. No one may marry the widow of his brother, or
the sister of his deceased wife. Cf. c. 61 of Agde.
19. Abbots are under the bishop; if they transgress, they
will be punished by him ; and once a year they must assemble
at the place fixed by the bishop. Monks, however, owe
reverent obedience to their abbot. If a monk acquires
private property, the abbot shall take it from him and
spend it for the convent. Monks who roam about shall,
with the assistance of the bishop, be caught and brought
back. The abbot who does not chastise such monks, or who
receives a strange monk, is himself in fault. Cf. c. 16,
C. xviii. q. 2.
20. A monk may not use an orarium (pocket-handker-
chief) or shoes (tzangce) in the monastery. Cf. c. 32, C.
xxvii. q. 1.
21. If anyone has become a monk, and afterwards
marries, he can never obtain an ecclesiastical office. — The
second part of c. 32, C. xxvii. q. 1.
22. No monk may, without permission of the bishop and
abbot, leave the monastery and build himself a cell. Cf. c.
38 of Agde, and c. 14, C. xviii. q. 2.
23. If a bishop gives any goods to clerics or monks for
usufruct, there arises from this, however long it may be, no
prescription. Cf. c. 59 of Agde, and c. 12, C. xvi. q. 3.
24. Before Easter there shall be kept, not a Quinqua-
gesima, but a Quadragesima. Cf. c. 6, De Consecrat.
Dist. iii.
25. No one must keep Easter, Christmas, or Pentecost
in his villa unless he is sick. Cf. c. 21 of Agde, and c. 5,
De Consecrat. Dist. iii.
26. The people must not leave the church before the end
of Mass ; and if a bishop is present, they shall first receive
the blessing from him. Cf. c. 47 of Agde, and 65, De Con-
secrat. Dist. i.
27. All churches shall celebrate the Eogations, i.e. the
Litanies before Ascension Day, so that the three days' fast
ends at the Festival of the Ascension. On these three days,
92 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS,
all man-servants and maid-servants (slaves, male and female)
shall be free from labour, so that all the people may corne
together (at divine service). Moreover, on these three days
only such foods shall be used as are permitted in Lent. Cf.
c. 3, De Consecrat. Dist. iii.
28. Clerics who do not take part in this holy work (the
Rogations) shall be punished according to the judgment of
the bishop. Cf. c. 5, Dist. xci.
29. In regard to intercourse with strange women, the
bishops, priests, and deacons must observe the earlier canons
(e.g., cc. 10 and 11 of Agde).
30. Fortune-telling, auguries, and sortes sanctorum are for-
bidden under pain of excommunication. Cf. c. 16 of Vannes,
c. 42 of Agde, and c. 9, C. xxvi. q. 5.
31. A bishop, unless he is ill, must not fail in attendance
at divine service on Sunday in the church which lies nearest
to him. Cf. c. 4. De Consecrat. Dist. iii.1
Besides these thirty-one genuine canons, several other
doubtful ones are attributed to our Synod by Burchard,
Gratian, and Ivo of Chartres, which Mansi2 collected, but
which we have thought we might omit, as they are not found
in the minutes of the Synod. Neither do we include a letter
from King Chlodwig, said to have been addressed to this
Synod,3 on the subject of the liberation of the Christians
taken in the war with the West Goths. Sirmond4 showed
long ago that this letter has no connection with our Synod,
and is considerably older.
SEC. 225. Oriental Synods on the Monophysite Question.
The opponents of the orthodox Chalcedonian faith carried
on the conflict with greater violence at a Synod at Sidon in
Palestine, A.D. 511 and 512,5 than at the Conciliabulum of
1 These canons, with the subscription of the thirty-two bishops who were
present, are found in Mansi, t. viii. p. 350 sqq. ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1008 sqq. ;
Sirmond, Concilia Gcdlise, t. i. p. 177 sqq.
2 Mansi, I.e. p. 359 sqq.
3 Mansi, I.e. p. 346 ; Hardouin, I.e. p. 1007 ; and Sirmond, I.e. t. i. p. 176.
4 Sirmond, I.e. p. 175.
5 That it began in 511 is shown by Pagi, ad ann. 512, n. 2 sqq.
TWO BRITISH SYNODS, A.D. 512 AND 516. 93
Antioch, recently mentioned. The well-known chronicler,
Count Marcellinus, who was a contemporary, relates in his
Chronicle (sub cans. Pauli et Mussiani), that, at the command
of the Byzantine Emperor, Anastasius assembled about eighty
unorthodox bishops at Sidon, in order to persecute the
orthodox bishops. Flavian, patriarch of Antioch (who in the
year 508 had shown himself weak1), and John, bishop of
Paltus (in Syria), because they rejected this sacrilegious
assembly, were exiled into the fort of Petra, where Flavian
died a confessor.2 John, however, was set free by Justin
when he became Emperor. From another contemporary, the
priest Cyril of Scythopolis, we learn that Soterichus, arch-
bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, and Philoxenus Xenaias
(sec. 208), bishop of Hierapolis, were the heads of this
assembly, and endeavoured to bring about a rejection of the
Synod of Chalcedon, and a confirmation of the doctrine of
Eutyches and Dioscurus.3
Soon afterwards, at another Conciliabulum of the Mono-
physites at Antioch, under the presidency of Xenaias, its
adherent Severus (sec. 208) was chosen patriarch of Antioch.
Another similar spurious Synod took place about the same
time at Constantinople, in order to place in the patriarchal
throne Timothy Colon or litrobolus, who was not unfavour-
able to the heresy (sec. 208). In opposition to this advance of
the Monophysites, the leaders of the monks in Palestine, after
the orthodox Patriarch Elias of Jerusalem had been expelled
by the Emperor Anastasius, held, in this city, A.D. 512, a
kind of Synod for the defence of the orthodox faith.4
SEC. 226. Two British Synods, A.D. 512 and 516.
In the same year, 512, before the conversion of the
1 Pagi (I.e.) shows from Theophanes that Flavian went so far as to pass over
the Council of Chalcedon in silence, but that he never consented to its being
formally anathematised. Evagrius (iii. c. 32) relates that he resisted, at an
earlier period, a demand of this kind, in opposition to the Syrian monks.
2 A similar account of the maltreatment of Flavian in the seventh (Ecu-
menical Council of Nicaea, Act 1, is given in the Vitas. Sabbse; Hardouin, t.
iv. p. 69.
3 Maiisi, t. viii. p. 371 sqq. 4 Mausi, t. viii. pp. 374-378.
94 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
Anglo-Saxons, whilst these were involved in numerous and
bloody feuds with the ancient Britons, and only the province
of Wales fully retained Christianity, Bishop Dulricius of
Llandaff in South Wales, at a British Synod, was elected
archbishop of the Urbs Legionum on the river Isca (Caerleon
on Usk), also in South Wales, and Theliaus was, in his stead,
elected bishop of Llandaff.1
Somewhat later, Dulricius is said to have resigned his
bishopric, and gone into a convent. Thereupon, at a numer-
ous assembly of the bishops and grandees of the kingdom, at
the beginning of the reign of King Arthur, whose uncle,
David, was raised to be archbishop of the Urbs Legionum,
and the priest Chelian of Llandaff, with the assent of Hoel L,
the British king in Armorica (Britanny in Gaul), was made
bishop of Dola (S. Dol in Britanny).3 As the beginning of
the reign of King Arthur, which, however, was only extended
over particular parts of the old British kingdom, is generally
placed in the year 516, so this synodus mixta (see vol. i. p. 4)
would be assigned to the year 516. But the history of
Arthur is too much involved in legends to enable us to
assume anything here with certainty.
SEC. 227. Synod at Agaunum or S. Moritz betiveen 515
and 523.
The Arian King G-undobald of Burgundy had, as we
know, become somewhat more favourably disposed to the
true faith through the influence of the orthodox bishops of
his kingdom, especially S. Avitus of Vienne, but was not yet
entirely won over. His son and successor Sigismund had
come back to the Church during his father's lifetime, and
gave evidence of his piety in various ways, but especially by
restoring and enlarging the monastery of S. Moritz at
Agaunum (now S. Maurice in the Swiss canton of Vallais),
founded even before the times of Chlodwig (Clovis) in honour
of the martyrs of the legion of the Thebaid, together with the
church belonging to it. Marius Aventicensis assures us, in
his Chronicle, that this building was undertaken (i.e. begun)
1 Mansi, t. viii. p. 378. - Mansi, I.e. p. 539.
SYNOD AT AGAUNUM BETWEEN 515 AND 523. 95
under the consulate of Florentius and Anthemius, A.D. 515.
When it was completed is unknown. In the fourth volume
of Grallia Christiana, p. 12 sqq., an old document is given,
frequently reprinted, the minutes of a Synod, according to
which, after the completion of the building of the church in
question, at Agaunum, a Synod was held in the presence of
King Sigismund.1 In what year this took place cannot be
ascertained with certainty. Eemi Ceillier (I.e. p. 675) assumes
that the building of the church was completed in 515, and
so, that the Synod took place in the same year; but the
authors of the Histoire litUraire de la France (t. iii. p. 89) the
learned Benedictines, decide with preference for 517, and
Pagi for 523. The latter knew, from the Chronicle of Marius
Aventicensis, that King Sigismund had, in the year 522,
caused Sigeric, his son by the first marriage, to be put to
death at the instigation of his wicked stepmother. He read,
moreover, in Gregory of Tours (Bk. iii. cc. 5 and 6) that the
King, out of penitence for this deed, had withdrawn for a
long time into the monastery of Agaunum, and had here
instituted perpetual worship. Since, however, this perpetual
worship was ordained at the Synod of which we are speaking,
Pagi concluded that the holding of the Synod must be placed
after this incident with Sigeric.2 He finds a confirmation of
this supposition in the minutes of the Synod of Agaunum
itself, since here almost at the beginning of the Synod, King
Sigismund says to the bishops : " You must comfort me in my
sorrow." But all that the bishops bring forward has not the
least reference to a sorrow of such a kind on the part of the
King, but are exhortations to the Christian life generally ;
and the sorrow of Sigismund apparently had its ground only
in this, that, after his renunciation of the Arian heresy, he
had not yet come to a right knowledge of the way to please
God.
But not only the date of the Synod of Agaunum is con-
testable, its very existence was called in question, first by the
Bollandists (P. Chifflet) in the first volume of January (at
1 This document is given also in Mansi, t. viii. p. 531 sqq. ; but not in
Hardouin.
• Pagi, ad ann. 515, n. 6 sqq., and ad ami. 522, n. 10 sqq.
96 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
January 6), and still more by Le Cointe (Annales Eccles.
Francor. t. L p. 227) j1 but it has been defended by Mabillon
(Annales Ord. Benedict, lib. i. s. 71), Pagi (ad ann. 522, n. 14
and 15), and Kemi Ceillier (I.e. p. 675 sqq.). An intermediate
view has been maintained by Professor Wagemann of
Gb'ttingen,2 who holds that the Acts of this Synod are certainly
spurious, but that they contain a genuine nucleus.
The minutes consist of two parts : (a) the transactions of
the bishops with the King and among themselves, and (b) a
deed of gift of Sigismund, which was embodied in the minutes.
At the beginning of the first part it is said that on the 30th
of April the Council was held by sixty bishops and as many
Comites. The conclusion, on the contrary, bears date the 15th
of May, so that the Synod would have lasted sixteen days.
As in the beginning of the first part, so also at the beginning
of the second, the reference is made to sixty bishops and an
equal number of counts ; but in the subscriptions we find
only three bishops and eight counts. The three bishops were
Maximus of Geneva, Victor of Gratianopolis (Grenoble), and
Viventiolus of Lyons. Besides these in the minutes we come
upon a fourth as orator, Theodore, bishop of Sedun (Sitten or
Sim in the Canton Vallais), so that it is clear the subscriptions,
as we now have them, are not complete. This is clear also
from the fact that they do not mention Avitus of Vienne,
who, however, preached at this solemnity at Agaunum. The
sermon itself is lost, but its title is found among the works of
Avitus.3 But Le Cointe made serious objection to the
number of sixty, and remarked with propriety that the whole
Burgundian kingdom had for a long time not numbered so
many bishops, but only twenty-seven. Consequently he
brings into doubt the genuineness of our document. But it is
possible that the number Ix. may have been put by an error
for the number ix., as Pagi thinks, or it may be supposed that
a number of neighbouring bishops from other territories had
1 This famous oratorian, Le Cointe, as is well known, was attached to the
French Embassy at the making of the Peace of Westphalia, and the sketch of
the preliminaries of the treaty was drawn up by him.
2 Gotting. gelehrle Anzeigen, 1867, S. 378.
3 Another sermon, also preached on that occasion by Avitus, has been dis-
covered ; see Gotting. gel. Anzeigen, 1867, S. 369 sqq.
SYNOD AT AGAUNUN BETWEEN 515 AND 523. 97
come to be present at the great solemnity instituted by the
King.
When all the bishops were assembled, King Sigismund
was the first to speak, and expressed his conviction that this
assembly would enjoy the divine assistance. At his wish the
bishops set before him, through the mouth of Maximus of
Geneva, the leading rules of Christian morality in the most
condensed form ; and after this was done, and all who were
present (among whom were many of the laity) had expressed
their approval of the statement made by Maximus, Bishop
Theodore of Sitten proposed for discussion the question,
What should be done with the bodies of the martyrs of the
Thebaid, Maurice and his companions, who were buried here ;
that is to say, whether and how they should be removed into
the new church, as it was not in their power to do accord-
ing to their deserts, and build a particular church for each
one ? The King exclaimed : " Oh that I could only be the
fellow of these saints ! " The bishops, however, decided, after
lengthy consultation, that only those of the martyrs whose
names were known, Maurice, Exuperius, Candidus, and Victor,
should be placed within the new basilica, and that the other
bodies should be placed together in another secure and suit-
able place ; that a sacred watch (of priests) should be given to
them ; and that, day and night, unceasingly, the office should
be sung at their grave. At the same time Hymnemundus
was appointed by the bishops and the King as abbot over the
monastery of S. Maurice. In order to carry on the perpetual
psalmody the monks were to be divided into nine bands
(normce), who should in their turn keep up the singing of
the canonical Hours. The king approved of this arrangement.
This perpetual psalmody is the second reason for Le
Cointe's declaring the whole document spurious, because, as
he thinks, this custom was at that time wholly unknown in
the West, and was only at a later period borrowed from the
Akoimette of the East. Mabillon,1 however, and after him
Pagi2 and Remi Oeillier,3 showed that, in the sixth and
seventh centuries, uninterrupted psalmody had been intro-
duced into several monasteries in France, for example, into
1 I.e. p. 28 sq. -' Ad aim. 522, u. 11-14. 3 I.e. p. 676.
iv. 7
98 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
S. Denis by Dagobert the Great, and this, as the documents
affirm, in imitation of the institution of Agaunum.
The institution of the perpetual psalmody rendered it
necessary that a new rule should be drawn up for the monks
of Agaunum, different from that of the other monasteries ;
for it was plain that they would be unable to discharge many
of the duties and labours prescribed to the latter. The Synod,
however, decided not to go into full details on the subject,
but delegated this to the personal discretion of the Abbot
Hymnemundus, and made only a few regulations, namely —
That for each of the nine divisions of the monks a dean
should be appointed ; that the clothing should be adapted to
the temperature of the monastery ; that there should be only
one dormitory, only one refectory, and only one heated
chamber provided ; that no monk should go out without the
permission of the president ; that the abbot for the time
being should be sufficiently instructed in the Old and New
Testaments that he might be able to edify others, and that
when need required, the abbot should have recourse to the
apostolic see.
The second part of the minutes, as we have remarked,
contains the deed of gift of Sigismund, in which he says that
he grants ad luminaria vel stipendia monachorum, i.e. for the
support of the monks l and for the salvation of his own soul,
to the monastery of Agaunum certain goods and possessions
in the districts of Lyons, Vienne, Grenoble, Aosta (in Pied-
mont), Geneva, Aventicum, (Avenche), Lausanne, BesanQon,
etc., together with all that appertained to them in houses,
slaves, freedmen, forests, vineyards, etc.
SEC. 228. Synods in Illyria and Epirus, and at Lyons, in
the years 515 and 516.
Theophanes in his Chronicle, and- after him Anastasius in
1 Instead of saying that "one presented something to the Church," it was
usual to employ the formula, "lie presented it ad luminaria ecdcsiw," i.e. that
they might be able to procure the many necessary lights. Soon, however, the
expression ad luminaria acquired the further meaning of ad fabricam ecclcsiss.
Of. Du Cange, Glossar. medise et infimx latinitatis, s.w. luminaria and
luminaries.
SYNODS IN ILLYKIA, EPIRUS, AND LYONS, 515 AND 51«. 00
his Church History, relate that in the year 515 forty bishops
of Illyria and Greece assembled in a Synod and here renounced
their metropolitan, the archbishop of Thessalonica, because
he had gone over to the side of the Monophysites from fear
of the Emperor Anastasius, and had entered into Church
communion with Timothy of Constantinople (see above, sec.
225). At the same time, they sent ambassadors to the
Pope, and confirmed in writing their communion with the
Eoman Church.1
In the following year, 5 16, another Synod was held south
from Illyria in the province of old Epirus — Epirus proper,
since Epirus Nova is Illyris Cfrceca. This Synod made over to
John the metropolitan see of Nicopolis, rendered vacant by
the death of Alcyson. John immediately sent the deacon
Rufinus with the news of his appointment to Pope Hormisdas
to Rome, and assured him in a letter, which is still extant,2
that he venerated the four Councils of Nicaea, Constantinople,
Ephesus, and Chalcedon, whereas he anathematised Dioscurus,
Timothy -ZElurus, and other heads of the Monophysites, and
perfectly conformed to the letters of Leo I. The Pope was
requested to prescribe to him more fully what he should
observe and from what he should keep aloof. A second letter
was addressed by the collective members of the Synod (seven
bishops besides the Metropolitan John) to the Pope, in which
they acquaint him with the death of Alcyson and the election
of John, on whose zeal for the orthodox cause, and on whose
obedience to Rome, they lay special stress. In conclusion,
they ask the papal recognition of John.3
Hormisdas answered them, in November 516, by three
letters. The first, addressed to the new Archbishop John, of
date November 15, 516, exhorts generally to steadfastness
in orthodoxy, and at the conclusion, for more particular
instruction as to the manner in which John should receive
those who should return to the Church, he remarks that an
Indwulus was added.4 What this was composed of will be
1 Mansi, t. viii. p. f>37.
- Mansi, t. viii. p. 401 sq. ; wanting in Hardonin.
3 Mansi, t. viii. p. 404 ; Hardouiu, t. ii. p. 1027.
4 Mansi, t. viii. p. 402 sq.
100 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
shown further on ; at present the remark suffices, that many
of John's suffragans had lately taken the side of the unecclesi-
astical party, the Monophysites or Henoticans, as we see from
the words quoted above, and from the letter of the Pope to
the Synod presently to be described. In the second letter to
John, of date November 19, 516, thus only a few days later,
request is made that the new archbishop will obtain the
subscription of all his bishops to a Libellus appended by the
Pope, stating that Homisdas will send the Roman subdeacon
Pulion to Nicopolis * with these letters and other documents.
This LibelliLs is in no way identical with the previously
mentioned Indiculus. It is, in fact, nothing else than that
confession of faith, Regula Fidei, with anathematisms over
Nestorius, Eutyches, Dioscurus, etc., which the bishops of
Epirus, on March 18 of the following year, sent to the Pope
with their subscriptions.
This confession, so well known afterwards, under the title
formula Hormisdce, and the often quoted Regula Fidei at the
latest Vatican Council, runs thus : " Prima salus est, regulam
rectse fidei custodire et a constitutis patrum nullatenus
deviare. Et quia non potest Domini nostri Jesu Christi prse-
termitti sententia dicentis: Tu es Petrus, et super lianc pctram
cedificabo ecclesiam meam, etc. ; hsec quse dicta sunt rerum
probantur effectibus, QUIA IN SEDE APOSTOLICA IMMACULATA
EST SEMPER SERVATA RELIGIO.
" Ab hac ergo spe et fide separari minime cupientes et
patrum sequentes in omnibus constituta, anathematizamus
omnes hsereticos prsecipue Nestorium haereticum qui quondam
Constantinopolitanae fuit urbis Episcopus damnatus in concilio
Ephesino a Cselestino papa urbis Eomee, et a sancto Cyrillo
Alexandrinse civitatis antistite ; una cum ipso anathematizantes
Eutychetem et Dioscorum Alexandrinum in sancta synodo,
quam sequimur et amplectimur, Chalcedonensi damnatos ; his
Timotheum adjicientes parricidam, ^Elurum cognomento, et
discipulum quoque ejus atque sequacem Petrum vel Acacium,
qui in eorum communionis societate permansit ; quia quorum
se communioni miscuit, illorum similem meruit in damnatione
sententiam ; Petrum nihilominus Antiochenum damnantes
1 Mansi, t. viii. p. 407 ; Hardouin, t. ii. 1030.
SYNODS IN ILLYRIA, EPIRUS, AND LYONS, 515 AND 516. 101
cum sequacibus suis et omnium suprascriptorum. Qua-
propter suscipimus et approbamus omnes Epistolas Leonis
papge universas, quas de religione Christiana conscripsit.
" UNDE, SICUIT PR^DIXIMUS SEQUENTES IN OMNIBUS APOS-
TILICAM SEDEM, ET PR.EDICANTES EJUS OMNIA CONSTITUTA, spero
tit in una communion vobiscum, quam sedes apostolica prae-
dicat, esse merear, IN QUA EST INTEGRA ET VERAX CHRISTIANA
RELIGIONIS SOLIDITAS." l
The third letter of the Pope, like the second, dated
November 19, 516, is directed to the Synod of Epirus. He
expresses his pleasure that the bishops of that country,
although somewhat late, had returned to the orthodox
doctrine, and explains clearly that not only Eutyches, but
also Dioscurus, Timothy (^Elurus), Peter, Acacius, and other
later heads of the anti-ecclesiastical party (also the Henoticans)
were to be rejected and to be abhorred. He could have wished
that the bishops in their letters on all these people had ex-
pressed themselves as clearly as their Metropolitan John had
done in his letter to the Pope.2 As, however, they had not
done this, they were to subscribe the Libellus appended.3
Finally, we have another document of Pope Hormisdas
belonging to this time, the Indicuhis already mentioned. It
is addressed, not to Archbishop John, but to the Eoman
subdeacon Pulion, whom the Pope sent as his Nuntius to
Epirus, and has the following content : If the archbishop of
Nicopolis has received the papal letters, he should assemble
the bishops of his parochia (here meaning province) and make
them subscribe the Libellus appended. If, however, the arch-
bishop should regard this as too troublesome, he could select
1 Mansi, t. viii. p. 407 ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1030. Somewhat later, A.D. 519,
Pope Hormisdas laid this confession of faith before Archbishop John of Constan-
tinople and the Orientals for subscriptions (cf. sec. 233, and Mansi, I.e. p. 451).
and so in his letter to the Spanish bishops (Mansi, I.e. p. 467). Later Popes
repeated the same, and in particular Pope Hadrian n. demanded of the Oriental
bishops who took the side of Photius, the subscriptions of the Formula
Hormisdse, enlarged with additions ; and the eighth (Ecumenical Synod approved
of this. Mansi, t. xvi. p. 28 ; Hardouin, t. v. p. 773. Cf. ConeUiengesch. iv.
S. 375.
- The Pope referred to the anathema on the heads of the Henoticans, as we
shall see later on, sec. 233.
s Mansi, t. viii. p. 405 sq. ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1028 sqq.
102 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
some men who should accompany the Nuntius to the different
bishops, that they might subscribe in his presence. Pulion
was also to take care that the papal letters should be read
before all the people, at least before the clergy.1
To the same year, 516, belongs also a Synod at Lyons,
of which we know nothing more than its existence, and that
Avitus of Vienne and Bishop Chartenius (his see unknown)
were present. And so much we owe to the twenty-eighth
letter of Avitus.2
SEC. 229. Synods at Tarragona, A.D. 516, and at
Gerunda, A.D. 517.
In the sixth year of King Theoderic, that is, when the
famous East Gothic King, Theoderic the Great, acted as
guardian to his grandson Amalric, the West Gothic King in
Spain, then a minor3 under the consulate of Peter (A.D. 516),
on the 6th of November the Synod of Tarragona was held
in the name of Christ. So we read in the short preface to
the Chapters on Canons passed by the Synod. There were
present, as the subscriptions show, Archbishop John of
Tarragona, the president of the Synod, and his suffragans
Paul of Impuria (Empuria), Frontinian of Gerunda, Agritius
(Agrocius) of Barcelona, Ursus of Dertosa, Camidius (or
Einidius) of Ansona, and Nibridius of Egara. Besides these,
there are named from other ecclesiastical provinces, Orontius
of Illiberis (unless it should be Ilerdita, which lay in the
province of Tarragona), Vincentius of Caesar-Augusta (Sara-
gossa), and Hector of Carthagina, which is mentioned as
metropolis. By this is meant only its dignity as civil
metropolis of the Provincia Cathaginiensis established in
Spain by Diocletian ; in its ecclesiastical position Carthagina
belonged to the province of Toledo.
These ten bishops decreed as follows : —
1. Those clerics and monks who are allowed to support
1 Mansi, t. viii. p. 408 ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1031.
2 Mansi, t. viii. p. 538.
3Amalric's mother, the widow of Alaric n., was a daughter of the East
Gothic Theoderic.
SYNODS AT TARKAOONA, A.D. 516; OERUNDA, A.D. ol7. 10?)
their relatives may give them what is necessary, but they
must put an end to their visits to them as soon as possible,
and not live with them. At these visits they must always
take an approved witness with them. If a cleric acts in
opposition to this command, he shall lose his office; and a
monk shall be imprisoned in his cell, and do penance on bread
and water.
2. No cleric shall engage in buying cheap and selling
dear. Taken from Gratian, c. 3, C. xiv. q. 4.
3. If a cleric has lent money to anyone in need, on con-
dition of being indemnified for it by wine or fruit at the time
when these are wont to be sold, and the debtor has not the
necessary supply, the lender shall receive back the loan
without any increase. See Corpus jur. can. c. 5, C. xiv. q. 4.
4. No bishop, or presbyter, or cleric shall sit in judg-
ment on Sunday. They may, however, settle quarrels on
other days, with exception of criminal cases. Cf. c. 1,
C. xv. q. 4.
5. If anyone is consecrated bishop, not in the metro-
politan city, i.e. not by the metropolitan himself, but with
his consent, he must present himself before the metropolitan
within two months, in order to receive his more personal
directions. Cf. c. 8, Dist. Ixv.
6. If a bishop, notwithstanding the admonition of the
metropolitan, fails to come to a Synod without being hindered
by serious illness, he must be excluded from the communio
charitatis with the other bishops until the next Council. See
vol. iii. p. 405, note, and c. 14, Dist. xviii.
7. If a priest and a deacon are appointed to a rural
church (ecclesia dioecesana, cf. sec. 222, canon 54, note),
together with other clerics, those two shall take weeks in
turn. In the one week the priest, in the other the deacon,
shall provide for divine service, which must daily consist of
matins and vespers.1 On Saturday, however, all the clerics
must appear at vespers, so as to be the more certain to be
present on Sunday. In some churches, in consequence of the
absence of the clergy, even the lights are not provided.
1 So that, at that time, there was not a daily Mass, as the deacon could take
divine service on week days.
104 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
8. Since it is known that many rural churches (ecclesice
dioeccsance) are in a bad state, the bishop, in accordance with
the ancient practice, should visit these churches every year.
If they are out of repair, they should be repaired, since,
according to ancient custom, the bishop receives the third
part (of all the oblations) from all rural churches. Cf. c. 15
of the Synod of Orleans (A.D. 511), above, and c. 10, C. x. q. 1.
9. If a lector should marry an adulteress, or continue in
matrimony with her, he must be excluded from the clergy
unless he leaves the adulteress. So with an ostiarius. A
different translation of our canon is given by Remi Ceillier
(I.e. p. 679), Eichard (Analysis Concil. t. i. p. 690), and others,
viz. : " If a lector or ostiarius shall marry, or continue in
matrimony with his wife when she is an adulteress," etc.
This translation, in my opinion, does violence to the Latin
text. It runs : " Si quis lectorum adulterae mulieri voluerit
misceri, vel adhaerere consortio ; aut relinquat adulteram, aut
a clero habeatur extraneus. Similis sententia ostiarorum
manebit scholam" (i.e. class, division. Cf. Du Cange,
Grlossar. s.v.).
10. No cleric may (like secular judges) accept presents
for his work (as judge), except what, as freewill offering, is
brought into the church. Cf. c. 1, C. xv. q. 2.
11. Monks must discharge no ecclesiastical function
outside their monastery, unless at the command of the abbot.
And none of them must undertake a secular employment,
unless for the use of the monastery. Cf. c. 35, C. xvi q. 1.
12. When a bishop has died, after his funeral a list of
all the property he has left shall be made by the priests and
deacons. Cf. c. 6, C. xii. q. 5.
13. The metropolitan should exhort his suffragans to
bring with them to the Synods (provincial Synods), not only
priests of the cathedral church, but also rural priests (de
dioecesanis), and some laymen.1
: Mansi, t. viii. p. 539 sqq. ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1039 sqq.; Gonzalez, Col-
lection de Canones de la Iglesa Espanola, Madrid 1849, t. ii. p. 114 sqq.;
Gams, Kircheng. von Spanicn, 1864, Bd. ii. S. 432 sqq. On the presence of
laity at Synods, cf. the first volume of this history, pp. 18, 25 sqq., and Aguirre,
Concil. Hispan. t. ii. Dist. 40.
SYNODS AT TAK11AOOXA, A.D. 510; GETiUNPA, A.D. 517. 10f)
Iii the same ecclesiastical province of Tarragona another
Synod was held in the following year, June 8, 517,1 in the
suffraganal city of Gerunda, at which Archbishop John of
Tarragona again presided, and six other bishops were present,
evidently those whom we have already met as members of the
previous Council : Frontinian of Gerunda, Paul of Empuria,
Agritius of Barcelona, Nibridius of Egara, Orontius (of
Ilerdita), and Einielus (perhaps Einidius or Canidius) of
Ausona. They drew up ten resolutions :2 —
1. The order of the Mass, as well as the manner of church
song and of altar service, shall in the whole province be the
same as in the metropolitan church.
2. After Pentecost, in the following week, on the three
days from Thursday to Saturday, the first litanies (Rogations,
see above, sec. 224, c. 27) shall be celebrated with fasting.
Cf. the following canon.
3. The second litanies shall be said from the 1st of
November (again for three days). If, however, one of these
three days is Sunday, the litanies must be changed to another
week. They shall begin on Thursday and end on Saturday
evening after Mass (Vesper Mass, see above, sees. 219 and
222). On these days there must be abstinence from flesh
and wine.
4. Catechumens are to be baptized only at Easter and
Pentecost. To the sick alone baptism may be administered
at any time. Taken into the Corpus jur. can. c. 15, De
Consecrat. Dist. iv.
5. When newborn children are sick, as is often the case,
and have no appetite for the mother's milk, they should be
baptized at once, on the same day.
6. If married men are ordained, they must, from the
subdeacon to the bishop, no longer live with their wives. If
they will not, however, live (alone), then they must have
with them a brother as assistant, and as witness of their
conduct.
1 On vi. Idas Juntas, therefore not on the 18th of June, as Remi Ccillier
(I.e. p. 680) and others incorrectly assert.
- Mansi, t. viii. p. 549 sqq.; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1043 sqq.; Gonzalez, I.e. p.
117 sqq.; Gams, I.e. S. 434 sqq.
LOG HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
7. If an unmarried man is ordained, he must not have
his house managed by a woman, but by a manservant or
friend, or by his mother or sister, if he has such.
8. If a layman, after his wife (i.e. after her death), has
known any other woman (free or a slave), he must not after-
wards be received into the clergy. Cf. c. 8, Dist. xxxiv.
9. If, in a sickness, anyone has received the benedictio
pamitentice,1 called the Viaticum, by means of the communion ;
and if, after recovery, he has not been required to do public
penance in the church, he may be received into the clergy,
if he has otherwise had no irregularity (si prohibitis vitiis non
detinetur obnoxius). Eemi Ceillier (I.e. p. 683) and Eichard
(Analysis Concil. t. i. p. 491) translate these words incorrectly,
" if he is not convicted of the offence charged against him."
10. Daily, after matins and vespers, the Lord's Prayer
is to be said by the priest (bishop). Cf. c. 14, DC Consecrat.
Dist. v.
SEC. 230. Two Grallican Synods between 514 and 517.
About the same time two Synods were held in Gaul, of
which only quite scanty information has reached us. The
one must have been held in the year 514, probably at Eeims.
Hincmar of Eeims in his Vita S. Remigii, and after him
Flodoard in his History of the Church of Reims (lib. i. c. 19),
relate that all the bishops present had greeted the holy
archbishop, S. Eemigius of Eeims, at his entrance into the
assembly, by reverently standing, with the exception of an
insolent Arian. This man, they say, consequently, by a
miracle, immediately lost his speech, and received it again
1 If anyone sick unto death confessed a grave sin, he was not put into the grade
of penitence, but received immediately absolution by the blessing. Cf. c. 13 of
Nicaea. This blessing is called benedictio pcenitentise, i.e. that blessing by which
the grade of penitence was conveyed to anyone, and was always available if the
penitent was not condemned to public penance. Cf. c. 21 of the Synod of
Epaon, sec. 231. After this blessing the patient received the communion, and
both were called Viaticum. If he recovered he might be required, according to
circumstances, to go through an additional time of penance. In this case he
could no longer become a cleric, as all who had done public penance were
excluded from clerical rank. Cf. the note of Aubespine on this passage, in
Mansi, t. viii. p. 564.
SYNOD AT KPAOX, IX BURGUNDY, A.D. 517. 107
through Kemigius as soon as he was disposed to confess the
orthodox faith.1
The other Council, Cenomanicum, held at Le Mans, in
France, in the year 516 or 517, confirmed the donations
which a rich Christian, Harigar, with his family, had made
for the building of a monastery in honorem S. Maria et SS.
Martyrum, Gervasii et Protasii, in the diocese of Le Mans.2
SEC. 231. Synod at Epaon, in Buryutuly, A.D. 517.
We have seen (sec. 227) that King Sigismund of Bur-
gundy, after he had returned to the orthodox faith, summoned
the bishops of his kingdom to a Synod at Agaunum. A
second Synod he held a short time afterwards at Epaon,
evidently with the purpose of improving church discipline
in his kingdom, and to bring back the earlier ecclesiastical
ordinances. It began probably on September 6, 517, since
for this day the bishops were summoned to Epaon, as we
learn from the letter of convocation of Avitus of Vienne (see
below). The meeting came to an end September 15, 517,
as is expressly set forth in the subscriptions of the bishops at
the end of the minutes.
At the head of the assembled bishops stood Avitus.
Besides him we find, in the subscriptions, the names of the
bishops Viventiolus of Lyons, Silvester of Cabillonum
(Chalons on the Saone, or, if we are to read Cabilicensis,
then Cavaillon, in the Department of Vaucluse),3 Gemellus
of Vaison, Apollinaris of Valence, Valerius of Sistaricum
(Sisteron), Victurius of Grenoble, Claudius of BesanQon,
Gregory of Langres, Pragmatius of Autun, Constantius of
Octoduruni (Martigni, in the Canton Vallais), Catulinus of
Ebredunum (Embrun), Sanctus of Tarantasia (Moustiers, in
Tarantaise, in Savoy), Maximus of Geneva, Bubuleus of
Vindonissa,4 Sseculatius of Dea (S. Die, in the neighbourhood
1 Mansi, t. viii. p. 554. 2 Mansi, t. viii. p. 546.
3 Cf. the note of Vinius, in Mansi, t. viii. p. 567.
4 This bishopric was subsequently removed to Constance. Bubuleus is the
first bishop known to us of this ancient and large Roman city, on the site of
which stands the village Windisch, in the Canton Argau. Cf. my History of
the IntrodiuAion of Christianity into Smith- Western Germany, S. 174 f.
108 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
of Valence), Julian of Carpentras, Constantius of Vapincum
(Gap, in the Department of Hautes Alpes), Florence of
Orange, a second Florence of Tricastina (Paul de trois
Chateaux, in the Department of Drome), Philagrius of
Cavaillou, Venantius of the Ci vitas Albensium or Alba
Augusta (now Viviers or Albe, in the Department of Herault),
Praetextatus of Apt (Department Vaucluse), Turicianus of
Severs, and the priest Peladius of Aventicum (now Avenche),
as representative of his bishop, Salutaris.1 Beckoning Avitus,
there were thirty-four bishops and one priest. Where Epaon
or Epaunum was situated, or under what name it may now
be identified, we can no longer decide with certainty ; and on
this subject the most conflicting suggestions have been pro-
posed, and whole dissertations written.2 It is most probable
that Epaona is to be sought in the neighbourhood of Agaunum
(S. Maurice in the Canton Vallais), and that in the year 563
it was buried by a landslip under Mons Tauretunensis, in the
neighbourhood of Tarnada. Somewhat further back in the
valley lies Evienna, to which the remaining inhabitants of
Epaona may have withdrawn.3
The Synod of Epaon was summoned by the two metro-
politans of Burgundy, Avitus of Vienne and Viventiolus of
Lyons, and we still possess copies of their letter of convoca-
tion to the suffragans. That of Avitus is addressed to Bishop
Quintian. As, however, this bishop occupied the chair of
Clermont, in Auvergne, and belonged neither to the ecclesi-
astical province of Vienne nor to the Burgundian kingdom,
Sirmond suggested in his edition of the works of Avitus, that
the direction to Quintian and the letter of convocation to the
suffragans are not properly connected, but that the letter to
Quintian has been lost, and that the direction of that letter
has been improperly prefixed to the other document.4
In this letter of invitation Avitus says : " The old canons
ordain that two provincial Synods shall be held annually ; but
it would be well if at least one should take place every two
1 On Aventicuni, now Avenche or Wiflisburg. on the Murtensee, in Switzer-
land, cf.-my Introduction of Christianity, etc., p. 73.
- Cf. Gelpke, Kirchengesch. der Schiccitz, Bern, 1856, Thl. i. S. 126 sqq.
3 Gelpke, I.e. S. 130 sqq. 4 Mansi, t. viii. p. 557.
SYNOD AT EPAON, IN BURGUNDY, A.D. 517. 109
years." The Pope of the venerable city (Rome) had reproached
him, that this institution had hitherto been so greatly neglected
(in Burgundy). He therefore requested all his brethren to
appear in the parochia of Epaon on the 6th of September, or
if anyone were hindered by sickness, to send two approved
priests as representatives, who should be able to counsel the
Synod.1
A similar letter was despatched by Archbishop Viventiolus
of Lyons, in which he said that, besides the bishops, clerics
were also required to come to the Synod, and laymen were
permitted to come ; and that perfect impartiality and liberty
of speech should prevail2
Another document belonging to the Council of Epaon
bears the title Proremium, and is nothing but the introduction
to a speech made by one of the bishops or priests present at
the request of the members of the Synod, probably at the
opening solemnities of the meeting. With many words
there is only one thought in this speech, that the speaker
was peculiarly unworthy and unfit to speak before such an
assembly ; but that he did so because he had been ordered, in
order at least thus to edify others by obedience. This shows
that the Prooemium could not possibly have been — what is
suggested in the Histoire lit. de la France, I.e. p. 92 — a kind
of preface which the cleric intrusted with the editing of the
canons had put as introduction to them. We find, however,
a kind of preface in the five lines under the heading Prcefatw,
explaining that the bishops assembled, by the grace of God,
at Epaon had drawn up the following (forty) Titles i3 —
1. If a metropolitan summons his suffragans to a Synod,
or for the consecration of a brother, no one shall be allowed
to excuse himself except in case of serious illness.
2. The apostolical prohibition, that no one married a
second time, and also no one who has married a widow,
should be ordained priest or deacon, must be enjoined anew.
3. One who has undergone Church penance cannot become
a cleric.
1 Mansi, t. viii. p. 555 ; Hardouin, L ii. p. 1045.
- Mansi, t. viii. p. 556 ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1046.
a Mausi, t. viii. p. 559 ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1047 sqq.
110 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
4. Bishops, priests, and deacons must not keep hounds or
falcons. A bishop who transgresses this prohibition must be
excluded from communion for three months, a priest two, and
a deacon one month. Cf. sec. 222, c. 55.
5. No priest must undertake Church services at the
oratories or basilicas of another diocese, unless his own
bishop has resigned him to the other bishop. If a bishop
allows one of his clergy to officiate illicite in a strange
diocese, he is responsible for it.
6. If a priest or deacon travelling is without a letter from
his bishop, no one shall give him communion. See above, sec.
222, c. 52.
7. If a priest in a parish sells any of the Church property,
this shall be invalid, and the purchaser must restore it.
8. The priest who administers a diocese (rural church,
see above, sec. 222, c. 54), must have what he buys put down
in the name of the Church, or resign the administration of
the Church. If an abbot sells anything without the previous
knowledge of the bishop, it may be demanded back by the
bishop. Slaves who belong to the monks must not be set
free by the abbot, for it is unreasonable that, whilst the
monks daily cultivate the field, their servants should go at
liberty idle. See above, sec. 222, c. 56.
9. An abbot must not have two monasteries under him.
See sec. 222, c. 57.
10. New cells (small monasteries) or congregations of
monks must not be set up without knowledge of the bishop.
See above, sec. 222, c. 58.
11. Without permission of the bishop no cleric must begin
a process in a secular court. If, however, he is himself sued,
he may present himself before the secular tribunal. Cf. c. 3 2
of Agde, sec. 32.
12. No bishop may sell any Church property without
previous knowledge of his metropolitan. Useful exchange,
however, is allowed.
1 3. If a cleric is proved to have given false testimony, he
is to be treated as a capital offender. See above, sec. 222,
c. 50.
14. If a cleric has received anything from his Church, he
SYNOD AT EPAON, IN BURGUNDY, A.D. 517. Ill
must restore it, if he is consecrated bishop in another diocese.
What, however, he has bought by deed with his property, he
may retain.
15. If a higher cleric has taken part in a banquet of a
heretical cleric, he must be excluded from the Church for a
year. Younger clerics who do the same shall be beaten.
But at the banquets of Jews, even a layman must not
partake, and anyone who has done so once, may not again
eat with a cleric.
16. If sick heretics are willing to be converted, their
priests may grant them the chrism. If, however, the penitent
recover, he must receive it from the bishop.
17. If a bishop has devised by will anything which
belongs to the Church, this is invalid, unless he has given in
return as much of his private property. Cf. above, sec. 222,
c. 51.
18. If a cleric has in possession, however long, any
Church property, even with the will of the king, it cannot
by any length of time become his property if it is demon-
strably the Church's. Cf. above, c. 59 of Agde, sec. 222.
19. If an abbot has committed an offence, and will not
admit the successor appointed by the bishop, the matter must
come before the metropolitan.
20. It is forbidden to bishops, priests, and deacons, and
to all clerics generally, to pay visits to women in the midday
and evening hours. If, however, such a visit is necessary, a
priest or cleric must be taken as witness.
21. The dedication of deaconesses shall be given up
throughout the whole kingdom. Only the lenedictio p&nitentiw
may be given to them, if they go back (i.e. lay aside the
votum castitatis). On the expression lenedictio pcenitenticc, see
above, sec. 229, c. 9.
22. If a bishop, priest, or deacon has committed a capital
offence, he must be deposed and confined in a monastery,
where, all his life, he receives only lay communion. In the
text is here lacking the word laica to qualify communio, whilst
it stands correctly in the pretended 50th canon of Agde.
See sec. 222.
23. Anyone who has laid aside the vow of penitence,
112 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
and has returned to secular business, must not at all be
admitted to communion until he has returned again to his
vow. Cf. c. 11 of the first Synod of Orleans, sec. 224.
24. Laymen may bring criminal accusations against clerics
of every rank, if they speak the truth. Cf. c. 6 of the first
Synod of Orleans, sec. 224.
25. Holy relics must not be placed in private oratories,
if there are no clerics of a parish in the neighbourhood to
sing psalms frequently over the sacred bones. Special clerics
(for such oratories) must not, however, be appointed until
sufficient has been provided for their food and clothing.
26. Altars which are not of stone are not to be dedi-
cated with the anointing of chrism. — Keceived with the
following canon into the Corpus jur. can. as 31 ; De Comecrat.
Dist. i.
27. The ordering of divine service by the metropolitan
shall be observed in his entire province. Cf. c. 1 of the
Synod of Gerunda, sec. 229.
28. If a bishop dies before he has absolved one who has
been condemned (excommunicated) by him, his successor shall
do so. — The correct explanation of this canon results from
what has been said in vol. i. of this history, p. 159 and 470.
29. If anyone has fallen from the Church into a heresy
since the ancient stringency has been modified, he may be
received back on the following conditions : — He must do
penance for two years, and fast every third day during this
time ; he must often frequent the church, stand in the place
of penitents, and leave divine service along with the
catechumens. Cf. above the pretended c. 60 of Agde, sec.
222.
30. Incestuous unions are in no wise to be pardoned
before they are again sundered. Besides those crimes which
one does not dare to mention, there are others incestuous,
such as the following unions : If anyone connects himself
with his brother's widow, or with his own dead wife's sister,
or with his stepmother, or with his consdbrina or sobrina
(child or grandchild of a brother or sister). Such marriages
are from henceforth forbidden; but those already concluded
we do not dissolve. Further, if anyone connects himself
SYNOD AT EPAON, IN BURGUNDY, A.D. 517. 113
with the widow of his uncle (on the mother or father's side),
or with his stepdaughter, in such cases those who shall effect
such a union must be again dissolved, and have liberty to
enter upon a better marriage. Of. c. 61 of Agde.
31. In regard to the penance of murderers who have
escaped secular judgment, the canons of Ancyra (21 and 23)
are valid. Of. vol. i. p. 220 f.
3 2. If the widow of a priest or deacon marries again, she
and her husband will be excluded from communion until they
separate. Cf. c. 13 of the first Synod of Orleans, sec. 224.
33. The churches of heretics we so greatly abhor, that we
consider them not even capable of being cleansed, and they
must never be turned to sacred uses. Only where they have
been previously Catholic churches, and have been taken from
us by violence, will we reconcile them. — This ordinance
stands in opposition to the last part of c. 10 of the first
Synod of Orleans, sec. 224.
34. If anyone has killed his slave without permission
of the judge, he must be excommunicated for two years.
35. Laymen of high descent must request benediction
from the bishop at Easter and Christmas, wherever they may
be (that is even in strange dioceses).
36. No sinner, if he repents and amends, is to be denied
the hope of being received back. If he is sick the time of
penitence may be shortened. If he recovers after reception
of the Viaticum, he must complete his appointed time of
penitence. Cf. c. 13 of Mcaea, vol. i. p. 419.
37. No layman may become a cleric nisi religione
prcemissa. Eeligio is not identical here with vita monastica,
but with the related idea conversio, ie. professio castitis. See
above, sec. 222, c. 16, note.
38. Only women of proved character and of advanced
age may enter into women's convents in order to render any
kind of services there. Priests who go into such convents, in
order to say Mass, must leave again directly after completing
divine service. Otherwise no cleric or young monk may visit
a woman in a convent, unless he is her father or her brother.
39. If a slave, who has a serious charge against him, flees
into the church, he shall be preserved only against bodily
iv. 8
114 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
punishment (death, mutilation, and the like), and no oath shall
be demanded from his master that he has not condemned him
to cutting hair or any other work.
40. The bishops who have subscribed these statutes, and
their successors, must know that they charge themselves with
great responsibility before God and their brethren if they do
not carefully follow them.
Two further canons, ascribed to the Synod of Epaon, are
found in Gratian, c. 11, C. xxvi. q. 6, and Egbert of York.1
The former says : If an excommunicated man, who has
already confessed his offence, and has a good witness, suddenly
dies, his relations (parentes) must bring the oblation to the
altar for him, and give a contribution for the redemption of
prisoners. The other is identical with c. 58 of Laodicea. See
vol. ii. p. 322.
SEC. 232. Synod at Lyons, A.D. 517.
Sometime after the close of the Synod of Epaon, eleven
of the bishops who had been present there celebrated a Synod
at Lyons, under the presidency of the Archbishop Viventiolus.
Before this, at Epaon, it had been thought necessary to renew
the ecclesiastical statutes with respect to incestuous mafriages.
The matter was practical, for Stephen, the chief fiscal in the
Burgundian kingdom, had, after the death of his wife, married
her sister Palladia. It was specially against him that the
30th canon of Epaon had been drawn up. The same
matter came up for discussion again at Lyons. An ancient
biography of S. Apollinaris of Valence, who had been at the
Council of Epaon, and was a full brother of Avitus, relates
that Stephen was expelled from Church communion by a
Synod in the presence of Avitus and Apollinaris, on account
of which the King was thrown into a violent passion. The
bishops, however, had hereupon betaken themselves to the
neighbourhood of Lyons, as into exile.2 Here in Lyons
they celebrated the Synod of which we have now to speak.
The Council, however, which excommunicated Stephen in the
presence of Avitus and his brother, is certainly none other
1 Both in Mansi, t. viii. p. 565. 2 Mansi, t. viii. p. 573.
SYNOD AT LYONS, A.D. 517. 115
than that of Epaon.1 It is impossible here to think of our
Synod at Lyons, for neither Avitus nor Apollinaris was
present at this. Besides, we can see from the six canons of
the Synod of Lyons, that the relations between King
Sigismund and his bishops had become somewhat better, but
were still uncertain. The canons run as follows : —
1. In the name of the Trinity, assembled for the second
time on account of the incest of Stephen, we decided that the
judgment unanimously pronounced by us at an earlier period
against him, and her who was improperly united to him,
should remain in undiminished force. The same shall be done
to other persons who may fall into the same transgression.
2. If anyone of us must, for this reason, suffer affliction
from the (secular) power, we all suffer in common with him.
And if any suffers losses, the participation of his brethren will
lighten them.
3. If the King (enraged with the bishops because of this
matter) of his own accord separates himself from the Church
and from communion with the bishops, we give him the
opportunity of returning again into the bosom of his Mother.
Let all the bishops speedily withdraw into the monasteries,
until the King, moved by the prayers of the saints, restores
peace again. And no bishop must leave his monastery until
the King has restored peace to all the bishops without
exception.
4. No bishop must intrude into the diocese of another, or
wrest parishes away from him. And even when a bishop is
travelling, another must not offer the sacrifice or take ordina-
tions in his place.
5. As long as a bishop lives, no one shall come forward
as his successor. If this should happen, and anyone be
consecrated as successor, he shall suffer perpetual excom-
munication, and also, the bishops who have consecrated him.
6. Following the view of the King, we have allowed this
modification, that Stephen, together with Palladia, may remain
in the church up to the prayer of the people, which is offered
after the Gospel.
1 Already suggested by Mansi, I.e. The Acts of Epaon, as they have come
to us, say nothing on the subject.
116 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
These canons were subscribed by Archbishop Viventiolus
of Lyons, and Bishops Julian, Silvester, Apollinaris, Victurius,
Claudius, Gregory, Maximus, Seculatius, Florence, and
Philagrius.1 Some further canons were ascribed to our Synod
by Burchard of Worms and Ivo, which Mansi (I.e. p. 571 sq.)
has collected. Pagi remarked correctly (ad. ann. 517, n. 10)
that this Synod is improperly called Lugdunensis I., and that
it should more properly be called the second of Lyons, since
an earlier one of A.D. 516 is known to us. Of. sec. 228.
SEC. 233. — Synods at Constantinople, Jerusalem, Tyre, Syria,
Rome, and Epirus, in connection with the Monophysites,
A.D. 518-520.
We have frequently met the Byzantine Emperor Aiias-
tasius as an enemy of the Chalcedonian doctrine, who
endeavoured by violence to carry through the unhappy half-
and-half Henoticon of the Emperor Zeno, and in his later years
came nearer and nearer to complete Monophysitism. Two
patriarchs, Euphemius and his successor Macedonius of Con-
stantinople, were deposed by him in the year 496 and 511 2
because they would not enter into his plans. But neither
cunning nor violence succeeded in leading astray even the
inmates of the residence, and as soon as the Emperor died,
July 9, 518, and the Praefector Praetorio Justin, a man of low
origin, but full of talent and insight, and devoted to orthodoxy,
had been elected as his successor, the people streamed in
masses into the cathedral and demanded that the Eutychians
and their supporters (called by the people Manichaeans),
particularly Severus of Antioch, should be excommunicated ;
that the patriarch should publicly declare his adhesion to the
Council of Chalcedon ; and that the names of Pope Leo and of
the two patriarchs, Euphemius and Macedonius, should be
restored to the diptychs, from which Anastasius had caused
them to be removed.
The Patriarch John the Cappadocian, who had recently
1 Mansi, t. viii. p. 569 sq. ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1053 sq. The sees of these
bishops are given above.
2 See above, sees. 208, 216, 225.
. SYNODS AT CONSTANTINOPLE, ETC., A.D. 518-520. 117
succeeded to the heretical Timothy, although inwardly orthodox,
in order to pacify the Emperor Anastasius, had rejected the
Council of Chalcedon, but now found it advisable, on two
days, at the repeated urgent demand of the people, to declare
that he recognised the Council of Chalcedon, and would
immediately appoint a solemnity in its honour (see below) ;
that he anathematised Severus, and so forth. Moreover, on
the second day he caused the names of Leo, of Euphemius,
and Macedonius, as well as the titles of the first four
(Ecumenical Synods, to be read aloud from the diptych, at
the solemn Mass.1 The people had also demanded the holding
of a Synod, that the results now demanded from John might
be confirmed in a canonical manner ; and the patriarch sum-
moned the bishops who were then present in Constantinople
and in the neighbourhood, to the number of forty-three or
forty-four, to a <rvvo8o<; ev^fiovcra on July 20, 518. He does
not himself appear to have been present ; for not only did the
Synod send its decrees to him in writing,2 but in this synodal
letter it is expressly said that the patriarch's plenipotentiary
had laid the whole matter before the bishops for their con-
sideration and decision. This synodal letter itself, as well as
all the other documents belonging to it, are found in the Acts
of a later Constantinopolitan Synod under the Patriarch
Mennas, A,D. 536, Actio v.3
Immediately after the opening of our Synod, the monks
of all the monasteries of Constantinople presented a petition,
and prayed that it might be read aloud, and that the points
therein brought forward might be confirmed.4 The Synod
consented, found the petitions of the monks (and of the people)
right and reasonable, and decreed that they should be com-
1 A very complete account of the stormy proceedings on these two days, by
an unknown author, is given under the Acts of the Constantinopolitan Synod of
A.D. 536, in Mansi, t. viii. pp. 1057-1065, and Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1334 sqq. Cf.
Baronius, ad ann. 518,. n. 6 sqq., and Walch, Ketzerhist. Bd. vii. S. 47 sqq.
2 They called him the oecumenical patriarch, a title very customary at that
time, and frequently occurring in the Acts of this and the following Synod. Cf.
Baronius, ad ann. 518, n. 14.
3 Mansi, t. viii. p. 1041 sqq. ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1322 sq.
4 This petition is in Mansi, t. viii. p. 1049 sqq. ; Hardouin, ii. 1327 sqq. As
the Synod has embodied all the points of this document in its synodal letter, it
is not necessary to give its contents more particularly.
118 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
municated by the patriarch to the Emperor and the Empress
(Euphemia). The petitions were as follows: — 1. That the
names of the patriarchs who had died in exile, Euphemius
and Macedonius, should be restored to the catalogue of the
bishops of Constantinople, and to the diptychs, and that
everything which had been done against them should be
annulled. 2. That all those who had been condemned and
banished on account of their adhesion to Euphemius and
Macedonius should be restored. 3. That the Synods of
Nicaea, Constantinople, Ephesus, and Chalcedon should be
inscribed in the diptychs. (In the old Latin translation of
these documents the Synods of Ephesus and Chalcedon are
omitted.) 4. That the name of Pope Leo should also be put
on the diptychs with the same honour as that of S. Cyril,
which already stands on the diptychs. 5. Finally, the Synod
declared that in accordance with the demand of the monks
and the people, anathema and deposition should be pronounced
against Severus of Antioch, who had repeatedly reviled the
Council of Chalcedon, and against whom a special letter of
complaint from the clergy of Antioch had been presented to
this Synod.1 — All this the Synod declared in their letter to the
Patriarch John of Constantinople, which was subscribed by all
present, with Archbishop Theophilus of Heraclea at their head.2
Copies of these synodal decrees were sent by the Patriarch
John also to other bishops of distinction, requesting their
concurrence and acceptance. Two such letters from him are
still extant, addressed to the Patriarch John of Jerusalem and
to Archbishop Epiphanius of Tyre.3 Both held Synods in the
the same year, that at Jerusalem on the 6th of August (with
thirty- three bishops), and that at Tyre on the 16th of Sep-
tember, 518,4 who, in their still extant synodal letter to John
of Constantinople and the bishops assembled around him,
declare their adherence to their decrees in the most decisive
manner. The Synod of Tyre, at the same time, gave here a
1 Mansi, t. viii. p. 1037 sqq. ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1317 sqq.
2 Mansi, t. viii. pp. 1041-1049 ; Hardouin, t. ii. pp. 1322-1327.
3 Mansi, t. viii. p. 1065 sqq. ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1342.
4 The synodal letter of Tyre is subscribed by only five bishops ; but it is not
complete, as is shown by the words at the close, *«i ai \nxot.
SYNODS AT CONSTANTINOPLE, ETC., A.D. 518-520. 119
long description of the various crimes of Severus of Antioch
and his associate, the Tyrian cleric, John Mandrites, and
requested that the name of the departed Flavian of Antioch
should be placed on the diptychs along with that of Pope
Leo.1 A further document appended to the synodal letter of
Tyre gives an account of the proceedings which took place in
the principal church there, September 16, 518,2 after the
reading of the letters which had come from Constantinople,
and before the opening of the Tyrian Synod. Here also the
people demanded, with endless acclamations, that Archbishop
Epiphanius of Tyre (who is here also called patriarch) and
his suffragans, would anathematise the Monophysite heresy
and its adherents, particularly Severus of Antioch and John
Mandrites.3
A similar third Synod was held by the bishops of Syria
Secunda under the presidency of Bishop Cyrus of Mariamna.
In their synodal letter to the " oecumenical patriarch," John
of Constantinople, they express their joy that now an ortho-
dox Emperor is reigning, and that an end is coming to the
time which has been so sad. They further declare their
unconditional adhesion to the decrees of Constantinople, and
inform them that they have pronounced anathema and deposi-
tion, not only upon Severus of Antioch, but upon his associate
Bishop Peter of Apamea. In connection with the documents
relating to the many crimes of Peter, they finally request of the
patriarch of Constantinople and his Synod a confirmation of their
sentence and the communication of the matter to the Emperor.4
1 These two synodal letters are found among the Acts of the Synod of 536, in
Mansi, I.e. p. 1068 sqq. ; Hardouin, I.e. p. 1432 sqq. ; cf. Mansi, I.e. p. 578 ;
and Walch, Ketzerhist. Bd. vii. S. 67 sqq.
2 It is the year 643, according to the Tyrian reckoning, on which, cf. Ideler,
Handbuch der Chronol. Bd. vii. S. 471 ff. ; and Lehrbuch der Chronol. S. 197.
In the marginal note in Mansi, I.e. p. 1084, there is a misprint which destroys
the meaning, and we must read 518 instead- of 543 of the Dionysian era.
3 Mansi, t. viii. pp. 1082-1092; Hardouin, t. ii. pp. 1354-1362. The
'Pttftai'xti here named, over whom anathema was also demanded, is certainly not
the Roman Pope, since he, a few lines lower, is introduced very respectfully as
o 'Pupns •recTfiapxtif.
4 Mansi, t. viii. p. 1093 sqq. ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1362 sqq. The documents
appended on Peter of Apamea are also in Mansi, I.e. pp. 1097-1136 Hardouiui
I.e. pp. 1366-1394.
120 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
There is no doubt that about the same time, and in many
other cities of the Byzantine Empire, similar Synods took
place for the rejection of the Monophysite heresy and its
adherents, whilst the Emperor Justin, after confirming the
decrees of Constantinople, expressly demanded this. The
Roman deacon Rusticus, a contemporary, also relates that,
under the Emperor Justin, about 2500 Sacerdotes (bishops)
had in writing declared their recognition of the Council of
Chalcedon.1
John of Constantinople and the bishops assembled around
him determined to apply to Pope Hormisdas, in order to
bring back Church communion, which for a long time (since
484) had been interrupted on account of the Henoticon.
The first steps to this end they had already taken by the
solemn recognition of the Council of Chalcedon, and by the
reception of Leo I. into the diptychs of their Church. The
Patriarch John wrote now on this subject to the Pope, com-
municated to him the decrees of his Synod, assured him that
his (Hormisdas') name had already been entered on the
diptychs, and concluded with the wish that the Pope, in the
full exercise of his holiness, would send some peaceful legates
to Constantinople, which should bring the work of unity to
perfection.2
In accordance with the wish of the Synod of Constan-
tinople, the Emperor Justin added to the letter of the
patriarch one of his own to accompany it, dated September 1,
518, in order to support the request that the Pope would
send legates to Constantinople in the interest of union. For
the better advancement of the matter, the Emperor sent one
of his highest officials of State, Count Gratus, with these
letters to Rome.3 The principal business committed to him
we learn from a letter which the nephew of the Emperor,
afterwards the famous Justinian, addressed to Pope Hormisdas,
and gave to Count Gratus to take with him. In this letter
he says : " As soon as the Emperor by the will of God (Dei
1 In Baronius, ad ann. 518, n. 37, and Mansi, I.e. p. 578 sq. At that time
there were numbered in Christendom more than six thousand bishops.
- Epistola Joannis ad Hormisd., in Mansi, t. viii. p. 436 sq.
8 Epistola Justini ad Hormisd., in Mansi, t. viii. p. 435.
SYNODS AT CONSTANTINOPLE, ETC., A.D. 518-520. 121
juditio) had received the princely fillet (infulas prindpales), he
had given the bishops to know that the peace of the Church
must be restored, and this had already in a great degree been
accomplished. But in regard to Acacius, they must hear the
Pope, and therefore the Emperor had sent Count Grains to Rome
with the imperial letter. Hormisdas therefore should, as soon
as possible, either come personally to Constantinople, or send
suitable plenipotentiaries." l
As is well known, Acacius, patriarch of Constantinople,
was the author of the Henoticon, and had been anathematised
by Rome (above, sec. 213). On his account the separation
between the Churches of Rome and Constantinople had taken
place. The Patriarch John and his Synod therefore were
forced to assume that the Pope would not easily be induced
to enter into union with the Byzantines, unless they had first
struck out from the diptychs the name of the long-departed
Acacius, and had recognised the anathema pronounced upon
him. But on this point they would come to no decision, since
under the previous Emperor the request of the Pope in this
matter had been refused, and his legates driven from Constan-
tinople. And the new Synod of Constantinople had not
said a single syllable about Acacius, and had anathematised
only Severus of Antioch, whose case was certainly more grave.
With the matter of Acacius, Gratus had to deal personally in
Rome, and, if possible, to find a middle way.
As we learn from a note appended to the letter of John
to the Pope, Gratus arrived in Rome, December 20, 518.
Baronius (ad ann. 518, n. 82 and 83) mentions that Hormis-
das had now held a Synod in Rome, to take counsel on this
subject ; but he does not mention the source from which he
draws, and in the somewhat numerous letters of Hormisdas
which belong to this time there is no trace of it. We learn,
however, from them that the Pope sent (A.D. 519) the bishops
John and Germanus, with the priest Blandus and the deacons
Dioscurus and Felix, as legates to Greece, and gave them full
instructions as to their line of conduct.2 In particular, they
were to receive no bishop into Church communion unless he
1 JSpistola Justiniani ad Homnisd., in Mansi, t. viii. p. 438.
2 Mansi, t. viii. p. 441 sq.
122 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
had first subscribed the Libellus (a confession of faith) given
to them from Eome, in which the anathema over Acacius and
his fellows was contained.1 Among these followers the
Patriarchs Euphemius and Macedonius were intended, who
had led on the separation from Eome, but were of the
Chalcedonian party, and on account of their orthodoxy, as we
know, had been forced to suffer persecution from the Emperor
Anastasius. The Synod of Constantinople referred to had
restored their names to the diptychs, and now the Pope
demanded that they should be anathematised along with
Acacius (as Schismatics), and that the legates were in no way
to relinquish this demand. At the same time, Hormisdas
addressed a series of letters to the Emperor, to the Empress,
to Justinian, to the Patriarch John, to the clergy of Con-
stantinople, and to several distinguished statesmen and court
ladies,2 in order to commend his legates to them, and to
ask for their co-operation in order to the restoration of
Church union. In most of them he particularly urges that
the anathema upon Acacius is a demand of importance, since
it is impossible, on the one side, to recognise the Council of
Chalcedon, and, on the other side, to retain in the Church
diptychs the name of its opponent, who had sought to nullify
it, and solemnly to call out his name at divine service.
The papal legates found generally a very respectful
reception, and wherever they came, found the bishops willing
to subscribe the Libellus. On this point we still possess the
reports of the legates themselves,3 as well as a relation of
Bishop Andrew of Prsevilatana (in Illyria), which also refers
to a Conciliabulum, in which the bishops of New Epirus
(Elyris Grceca, see above, sec. 228) were ready to comply
with the demand of the Pope only in appearance, whilst their
archbishop (of Dyrrhachium) could not at all be brought to
the right way. The legates, however, succeeded in their mission
in Constantinople. The Patriarch John subscribed, in March
1 This Libellus is the so-called Formula Hormisdse, (sec. 228), and was sub-
scribed by the Patriarch John of Constantinople (see below in this section).
2 Mansi, t. viii. pp. 435-449. To certain persons, as the Emperor and Jus-
tinian, two among these letters are directed ; to the patriarch, three. The former
were probably sent with the legates, the others before or afterwards.
3 Mansi, t. viii. pp. 449, 450, 454. .
SYNODS IN WALES AND AT TOURNAY. 123
519, the papal Libellus? and thus pronounced anathema, not
only upon Eutyches, Dioscurus, and others, but also over
Acacius and his followers (without naming them in particu-
lar), and in the presence of the legates the names of Acacius,
Eupheinius, and Macedonius, as well as those of the Emperor
Zeuo and Anastasius, were struck out of the diptychs.2
Thus was the union with Constantinople again established ;
and the Emperor now recommended the other bishops of his
kingdom to subscribe the papal Libellus, and acquainted the
Pope with the same by a letter, dated April 22, 519.3
Additional letters were sent to Koine by the Patriarch John,
the Emperor's nephew Justinian, and many other persons, to
acquaint them with what had been done at Constantinople,
and to express their joy at the issue.4 Hormisdas, however,
requested the Emperor, as well as the Patriarch John, the
Prince Justinian, and others, to use their best exertions to
bring about union also in Antioch and Alexandria, so that
it might be brought about through the whole empire.5
There were many hindrances in the way of unity, and, in
particular, the question raised by the Scythian monks as to
whether we should say : " One of the Trinity has suffered "
(see vol. iii. sec. 208). During these new controversies the
Patriarch John died, A.D. 419, and a Synod held for this
reason at Constantinople (at the end of 519 or in 520),
consisting of ten metropolitans and as many other bishops,
informed the Pope that the priest and syncellus 6 Epiphanius
had become the successor of John.7 The answer from Eome,
addressed to the Synod, is of date so late as March 26, 5 2 1.8
SEC. 234. Synods in Wales and at Tournay.
We have very scanty information respecting two Synods
1 His Libellus Fidei is in Mansi, I.e. p. 451 ; Hardouin, I.e. p. 1016 sqq.
2 Compare the account of the legates in Mansi, I.e. p. 453 sq.
3 Mansi, I.e. p. 456 ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1016.
4 Mansi, I.e. pp. 457-460.
* Mansi, t. viii. p.. 462 sqq., and p. 468 sq.
6 Chaplain to the late archbishop. [On the origin of the term, see
Dictionary of Christian Antiquities, g.t>.]
7 Mansi, I.e. p. 491 sqq. 8 Mansi, I.e. p. 512 sq.
124 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
which were held about this time in Wales, that part of Britain
which had remained Christian, the one in the year 519, the
other somewhat later. Occasion was given for the former by
the Pelagian heresy. In order to suppress this in Wales, the
bishops Germanus of Auxerre and Lupus of Troyes had insti-
tuted a mission there about ninety years earlier, and with great
results.1 But the tares had again grown rank, so that, in the
year 519, the bishops of Wales (Cambria), with the abbots
and many other clergy and laity of distinction, assembled in
Synod at Brevi, in the district of Keretica (Cardigan). At
first they could make no impression upon the heretical
populace. Then one of them, Paulinus, proposed that the
holy Bishop David of Menevia,2 who had not yet arrived,
should be fetched, which was immediately done. David came,
made an address accompanied by a miracle, and won their
hearts to such an extent that all the heretics present
renounced their error. In gratitude for this, David was
raised to be metropolitan for all Wales; and this dignity,
which formerly belonged to the Urbs Legionum (Caerleon on
Usk), was now connected with the see of Menevia.3
At the other Synod in Wales, held somewhat later at
Victoria (probably A.D. 520), they confirmed the decrees of
the assembly just mentioned, which is here called Sy nodus
Menevensis, because the Eegio Keretica, in which it was held,
belonged to the diocese of Menevia. Besides this confirmation,
there were at this Synod, as at the former, many canons
passed for the regulation of Church life in Wales, but they
have not come down to us.4
To the year 520 is also assigned a Synod at Tournay or
Doornick (Tornacum), in the ecclesiastical province of Reims
(but now belonging to the kingdom of Belgium), held by the
bishop of that city, S. Eleutherius, for the rooting out of
heresy. As he summoned only clergy and laity of his own
diocese to this Synod, as the very brief Acts relate, we have
here only a diocesan Synod before us, which demands so much
1 Cf. Montalembert, Monks of the West, vol. iii.
2 Menevia lies at the south-western corner of Wales, and received, in memory
of this Bishop David, the name of S. David's. Cf. Montalembert, I.e.
3 Mansi, t. viii. p. 579 sqq. 4 Mansi, t. viii. p. 583.
SYNODAL LETTER OF THE AFRICAN BISHOPS. 125
the less consideration, as we have no details except the speech
which Eleutherius then addressed to the assembly, and in
which he confessed the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity.1
Even the genuineness of this speech, like that of the alleged
writings of S. Eleutherius generally, is not quite raised above
suspicion.2
SEC. 235. Synodal Letter of tlie African Bishops banished to
Sardinia from the Year 523.
The Vandal King Thrasamund had banished many
African bishops to Sardinia, among them S. Fulgentius of
Kuspe. The celebrity which these men, especially Fulgentius,
gained on account of their deep theological insight, led to
their being consulted by strangers, who wrote to ask their
counsel on important questions, and especially by the Scythian
monks of Constantinople, John Maxentius at their head.
These wrote an account of the conflict then going on with the
Semipelagian heresy, and especially against the writings of
the late Bishop Faustus of Eiez.3 Such a letter from them is
still extant,4 and gave occasion for the treatise of Fulgentius,
De Incarnatione et Gratia Domini nostri Jesu Christi. A
second letter of these monks, still more important in its con-
sequences, has been lost. Along with it they had sent to the
African bishops in Sardinia the writings of Faustus of Eiez.
Fulgentius drew up, in opposition to them, three books, De
Veritate Prcedestinationis et gratim Dei, and seven books against
Faustus. These are no longer extant, but the other three
books are in all editions of the works of Fulgentius.5 This
scholar and biographer says (cc. 28 and 29) that he wrote
the seven books against Faustus whilst he was still in Sar-
1 Mansi, I.e. p. 587 sqq.
2 Cf. Oudin, Commentar in Script, eccles. t. L p. 1334 ; Binterim, Deutsche
Cmicilien, Bd. i. S. 396 sq.
3 A complete account of this conflict in given by Cardinal Noris in his
Historia Pelagiana, lib. ii. c. 18 sqq.
4 Among the works of S. Fulgentius (Eiblioth. Max. PP., Lugd. t. ix. p. 196),
and in the appendix to the works of Augustine, in Migne's edition, t. x. pt. ii.
p. 1772.
5 So, e.g., in the Biblioth. Max. PP., Lugd. t. ix. p. 232 sqq.
126 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
dinia, and the three, De Veritate Prcedestinationis, in Africa
again, after his deliverance from exile (after Thrasamund's
death, May 28, 523).1
That letter of the monks gave occasion for a third letter,
which, although also written by Fulgentius, was sent out in
the name of his colleagues with him. This is the famous
Epistola Synodica? which has been reproduced in several
collections of the Councils. That it emanated from Fulgentius
his biographer proves (c. 20) beyond question, although his
name is wanting from the twelve bishops mentioned in the
superscription. The letter is addressed to the priest and
archimandrite John, the deacon Venerius, and their associates,
and it is universally admitted that hereby John Maxentius,
the abbot of the Scythian monks, and the monks themselves 3
are meant. Whether, however, this Epistola Synodica had
been decided upon at a formal Synod of these bishops must
remain undecided. It was formerly thought that it was
despatched from Sardinia (A.D. 521), because in sec. 2 it is said
that the letter of the monks had brought the bishops comfort
in exile ; but Cardinal Noris showed very fully 4 that this
document might have been composed after the end of the
exile in Africa, since in the last paragraph but one the seven
books (of Fulgentius) against Faustus, and the three books,
De Veritate Prcedestinationis, are recommended to the monks
for reading. As the latter of these books falls into the time
after the exile, still more does the Epistola Synodica. Besides,
in sec. 27 of this letter Pope Hormisdas is spoken of as already
dead (beatce memorice) ; and his death took place August 6,
523, consequently later than that of King Thrasamund. We
arrive then at the result, that the exiled bishops received the
letter of the monks while they were still in Sardinia, during
their banishment, and answered it later on, after their return
to their native country.
1 Biblioth. Max. PP. I.e. pp. 14 and 15. On the real day of Thrasamund's
death, cf. Noris, Historia Pelagiana, lib. ii. c. 21.
2 In Mansi, t. viii. p. 591 sqq. ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1005 sqq. In the
Biblioth. Max. PP., Lugd. t. ix. p. 229 sqq., and in the Appendix to the works
of Augustine, Migne, t. x. pt. ii. p. 1779 sqq.
3 Cf. Noris, Historia Pelagiana, lib. ii. c. 21 ; Walch, KetzerMst. Bd. v. S.
127 and 128, ann. 3. * Historia Pelagiana, lib. ii. c. 21.
SYNODAL LETTER OF THE AFRICAN BISHOPS. 127
The principal contents of this beautiful letter are as
follows : — 1. All members of the Church must have a mutual
care for one another. 2. We rejoice that you hold fast the
right view on the grace of God ; but it grieves us that, accord-
ing to your information, certain brethren (Faustus of Riez
and his adherents) desire to elevate human freedom too much,
in opposition to divine grace. 3. This comes to pass by
divine permission, that the power of grace may be more
clearly seen, for it would never be recognised if it were not
granted ; and he who has it opposes it neither in words nor in
works. 4. Grace imparted by God produces good words and
good, deeds and good thoughts. 5. Men must know and
confess as well the egena paupertas humani arbitrii as the
indificiens largitas divines gratice. Before the latter is im-
parted to him, man has certainly a liberum, but not a bonum
arbitrium, quia non Uluminatum. 6. In order, however, to
come closer to the contents of your letter, you say, sec. 7 :
Before Esau and Jacob were born, Jacob was elected by the
unmerited mercy of God (misericordia gratuita) ; but Esau,
because infected with original sin, was rightly hated by God.
Your opponents, however, maintain : In Esau figuram esse
populi Judceornm, ex futuris malis operibus condemnandi ; in
Jacob vero figuram esse populi gentium, ex futuris operibus
bonis salvandl These two statements should be united.
8. Those two brothers are really the types of the two peoples
named, but the reason of their different lots (divine election
and the hatred of God) is in regard to the one the gratuita
bonitas of God, in regard to the other the justa severitas of
God. Certainly non sunt electa, neque dilecta in Jacob humana
opera, sed dona divina. 9. Jacob was elected only through
the mercy of God, not as a reward for any kind of future
virtue (non pro meritis futures cujusquam bonce operationis) ;
and God knew beforehand that He would grant to him both
faith and good wdrks. Faith, however, cannot be given as a
reward for any kind of good works, for these are possible only
when faith has first been granted (through grace). 10. But
as faith is granted, so also are works. 11. Esau was a vessel
of wrath, and not unjustly : Iram juste meruit, for God is not
unjust. As in Jacob God has shown the misericordia gratuita:
128 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
bonitatis, so in Esau the judicium justce severitatis, because he,
through the sacrament of circumcision, was delivered from the
guilt of original sin,1 yet through his nequitia cordis retained
the old earthly man (in hominis terreni vetustate permansit).
In his person not only are those prefigured who deny the
faith, but also those members of the Church who persevere in
evil works. 12. They are condemned like Esau. 13. In
regard to children the following is true : Parvulus qui baptiz-
atur gratuita Dei bonitate salvatur ; qui vero sine baptismate
moritur propter peccatum originate damnatur. 14. On grace,
he thinks wrongly who believes that it is given to all. There
exist, in fact, whole nations to whom grace has not yet pene-
trated. 15. Further, grace is not given cequaliter to all who
have received it. 16. You say: Man desires salvation only
through the misericordia Dei ; while they (the Semipelagians)
maintain : Nisi quis propria voluntate cucurrerit et elaboraverit,
salvus esse non poterit. Both must be held together : The
misericordia Dei must go before, human co-operation must
follow. The beginning of salvation comes only from the
divine mercy, but the human will must co-operate, must be
co-operatrix suce salutis, ut misericordia Dei proveniens wluntatis
humance dirigat cursum, et hurnana voluntas obediens, eadem
misericordia subsequente, secundum intentionem currat ad
bravium. The human will will become good, si Dei prceveniatur
dono, and will remain good, si ejus non destituatur auxilio.
17. The words in the Epistle to the Romans (ix. 18): Cufus
vult, miseretur, et quern vult indurat, are to be understood in
the sense that S. Paul here brings forward his own view,
not the objection of another. This appears from what follows
(ix. 21). 18. If, however, it is said that God hardens, it
is not meant that He drives men to perverse conduct, but that
He does not deliver from such a state, and he who is not
delivered receives only his due (recipit quod meretur). 19.
You refer to Phil. ii. 13, Deus operatur in vobis et velle et
1 Above in par. 7 the bishops said : Esau originali peccato detentus justo
judicio Dei est odio habitiis (as before his birth, so also before his circumcision,
he was made a vas odii). Now they say (par. 11) : Sacramento circumcisionis
— reatu peccati originates caruit. This later view is found in several ancient
Fathers.
SYNODAL LETTER OF THE AFRICAN BISHOPS. 129
operari, and on the other hand to Isa. i 19, Si volueritis, . . .
bona terrce comedatis. These two passages also must be taken
together. God commands man to will, and also works in him
to will ; and He commands him to do, and works in him to
do. 20. A view which is too absurd is taken by the oppon-
ents of the expression Vasa misericordice, when they would
understand by this, those who are by God endowed with
secular or spiritual places of honour, and by Vasa contumelice
(Horn. ix. 21), the lowly, monks and laymen. 21. Anyone
who opposes the Prcedestinatio Sanctorum (i.e. prcedestinatio ad
vitam) assails Holy Scripture (Born, viii 29 ; Eph. i 5 ;
Horn, i 4). 22. The predestinated are those of whom God
wills that they shall be blessed, and attain to the knowledge
of the truth. As among these are included people of all con-
ditions, ages, sexes, etc., it is said, He will have all men to be
saved. Qui propterea omnes dicuntur, quia in utroque sexu,
ex omni hominum genere, gradu, estate, et conditione salvantur.
Christ Himself says (S. John v. 21), in those, to whom HE
will give eternal life, He does not wait for the human will to
make a beginning, but He gives life, since He makes the will
itself to be good. This is the case with adults. In the case
of children, however, where the will cannot yet be made good,
He works out their salvation by the operation of grace alone.
23. Freewill, which was sound in the first man before his
sin, is now repressed, even in the children of God, by their
own weakness, but it is restored through the still stronger
grace of God. 24. The question as to the origin of souls,
whether they come ex propagine, or whether for every new
body a new soul is created (sive novce singulis corporibus
fiant), we will pass over in silence. The Holy Scripture does
not decide this question, and it should be examined with pre-
caution. 25. On the other hand, it is certain that the souls
of children nexu peccati originates obstrictas esse ; and that
therefore the sacrament of baptism is necessary for all, quo
dimittitur peccati originalis vinculum, et amissa in primo
homine per secundum hominem recipitur adoptio JUiorum.
26. Be steadfast in the faith, and pray for those who have
not the right faith. 27. Especially give them the books of
Augustine to read which he addressed to Prosper and Hilarius.
iv. 9
130 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
28. This we have in common written to you. But one of us
has answered all the objections of these erring brethren,
against grace and predestination, in three books, and has
written seven books against Faustus, which you should read.
29. Might God grant to all who had the true faith an
increase thereof, and to others the knowledge of the truth.1
SEC. 236. — Synods at Junca and Sufes in Africa.
To the same year, 523, Mansi assigns the Concilium
Juncense (Junca) in the province of Byzacene in Africa, which
was formerly assigned to the following year.2 We still
possess a letter of the president of this Synod, the primate at
that time of the province of Byzacene, Liberatus, to Archbishop
Boniface of Carthage, in which he says that the peace of the
Church had again been restored at this assembly.3 What was
further necessary, he said, would be conveyed by word of
mouth by the bishops who were intrusted with the letter.
The peace of the Church had been disturbed, partly by the
conflict of Liberatus with a monastery (see sec. 238 below),
and partly because Bishop Vincentius of Girba (Girbitanus)
had invaded the province of Byzacene, although he belonged
to the province of Tripolis, consequently from a strange
province.4 Ferrandus in his Breviarium Canonicum, c. 26,
gives us a canon of this Synod, which runs thus : Ut in plebe
aliena nullus sibi episcopus audeat vindicare.5 Finally, we learn
from the biography of S. Fulgentius, c. 29, that he was also
present at one Synod (called, by an error of the transcriber,
Vincensis instead of Juncensis), and that the Synod gave him
1 An historical and doctrinal dissertation on this Epistola Synodica is given
by Cardinal Aguirre in the second volume of his Concilia Hispanise.
- Mansi, t. viii. p. 634. At p. 652 Mansi gives a letter of Archbishop
Boniface of Carthage addressed to the bishops who were at the Council of Junca.
This letter is dated xvii. Kal. Januarii, anno primo (i.e. of the Vandal King
Childeric), and says that for the following year Easter is on the vii. Idus
April. This letter is consequently written in December 523, and thus gives us
the date of the Synod of Junca.
3 Mansi, I.e. p. 633 ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1085.
4 Mansi, I.e. p. 633 and 652. Further on the Synod of Junca we shall find
below in the history of the Council of Carthage, A.D. 525.
5 Mansi, I.e. p. 633.
THE SYNODS AT ARLES, LERIDA, ETC., A.D. 534 (546). 131
precedency over another bishop named Quodvultdeus. As
the latter was hurt by this, Fulgentius himself requested at
the next Council, which was held at Sufes (Sufetanum), also
belonging to the province of Byzacene, that Quodvultdeus
should again be given precedence of him.1 No more is known
of the Synod of Sufes.
SEC. 237. — The Synods at Aries, Lerida, and Valencia,
A.D. 524 (546).
The great East Gothic King Theoderic had, in the year
507, plundered the city of Aries, and had incorporated it,
together with a part of G-allia Narbonensis, if only for a short
time, into his own kingdom.2 Besides, as we know, he ad-
ministered the Spanish West Gothic kingdom as guarcfian of
Amalrich (see above, sec. 229). In the great domain which
thus owned his sceptre, three Synods were held in the year
524, at Aries in South Gaul, and at Lerida and Valencia in
Spain. The Synod at Aries, often called the third, but more
properly the fourth, held on June 6, 524, numbered thirteen
bishops and four representatives of absent bishops. The
names of the episcopal sees are not given in the short Acts, and
the president, Ceesarius, was evidently the famous Archbishop
Caesarius of Aries, already frequently mentioned. In the
preface to the Acts it is remarked that the dedication of the
Basilica of S. Mary at Aries was the occasion of this
assembly. In order, on some points, to restore the ancient
Church disciple, they decreed tour canons, which are essentially
only renewals of more ancient ordinances : —
1. No one is to be ordained bishop before his twenty-fifth
year, and no layman is to be a bishop unless his conversion 3
has preceded, or he is thirty years old. Cf. cc. 16 and 17 of
the Synod of Agde, sec. 222.
1 Ferrandi Fulgentii Vita S. Fulgentii in Biblioth. PP. Max., Lugd. t. ix.
p. 15 ; Mansi, t. viii. p. 634.
2 Gallia Christ, t. i. p. 535 ; Sirmond, Condi. Gallise, t. i. p. 604 ; Mansi,
t. viii. p. 632.
3 Conversio signifies ordinarily entrance into the monastic state, or in general
the vow to renounce the world and lead an ascetic life. Thus conversion Pro-
fessio continentise. Cf. Du Cange, Glossar. a.h.l., and above, sec. 222, c. 16, note.
132 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
2. No layman is to be ordained bishop, priest, or deacon
unless he has, for one year at least, been converted (taken
the vow of continence). At an earlier period a longer period
was required, but the increase in the number of the churches
now makes a greater number of clerics necessary.
3. No one who has done penance, or who has married a
second time, or a widow, must be ordained bishop, priest, or
deacon. A bishop who, nevertheless, ordains one of these,
shall not say Mass for a year ; and if he does this he will be
excluded db omnium fratrum caritate (cf. sec. 200, c. 20 of
Chalcedon). Eeceived into the Corpus j'ur. can. as c. 2,
Dist. Iv.
4. If a cleric takes to flight in order to escape from
Church discipline, no one (i.e. no other bishop) must receive
him, still less defend him, on penalty of exclusion from
Church communion.1
5. Gratian, Burchard, and others ascribe to many Synods
of this period (sec. 231 and sec. 232), and Worms among them,
several other canons, which partly belong to other Synods
and partly are of doubtful genuineness. Mansi has them
collected, I.e. p. 627 sqq.
Just two months later, on August 6, 524,2 eight bishops,
and a priest as representative of his bishop, assembled in the
Church of S. Eulalia at Ilerda (Lerida) in the ecclesiastical
province of Tarragona. The names of their sees are only
partially given in the Acts. We learn them, however,
completely from other sources, in Florez, Espana Sagra,
t. 46, p. 99, and Ferreras, History of Spain, vol. ii.
Hence we learn that Sergius, archbishop of Tarragona, was
the president of this Synod ; Justus, bishop of Urgelis,
Casonius or Castonius, bishop of Ampurias, John, bishop of
1 Mansi, t. viii. p. 626 sq. ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1070 sq.
2 This date is given in the superscription of the Acts of this Council, which
has : Anno xv. Theuduredi vel Theorderici regis. But it has been contended by
Cardinal Aguirre, and after him by Pagi (ad. ann. 546, etc., 10 and 11), Florez
(Espana Sagrada, t. 46, p. 99), Ferreras (Hist, of Spain, vol. ii.), and others,
that, instead of Theuduredi, we should read Theudis (or else that Theudes had
the surname of Theoderic), and, as King Theudes began to reign in December
531, it is necessary to remove our Synod, and also the following one at Valencia,
to the year 546.
SYNODS AT ARLES, LERIDA, ETC., A.D. 524 (546). 133
Sarragossa, Paternus, bishop of Barcelona, Maurelio, bishop of
Dertosa (Tortosa), Taurus, bishop of Egara, Februarius of
Lerida, and Gratus, representative of Bishop Staphylius of
Gerundum. They drew up the following canons : l —
1. In regard to the clergy in a beleaguered town it is
ordained, that while they serve at the altar and communicate
the blood of Christ and handle the vessels appointed for
divine service, they must shed no human blood, not even that
of their enemies. If, however, they do so, they must be
excluded for two years from their office and from communion.
If in these two years they have expiated their offence by
watching, fasting, prayer, and almsgiving, they may again be
restored to office and to communion, but they may not be
advanced to any higher office. If, however, they have shown
themselves slothful in regard to their spiritual welfare dur-
ing the time of their suspension, the bishop (sacerdos)
may prolong their time of penance. — Taken into c. 36,
Dist. 1.
2. If anyone should seek to put to death his child
begotten in adultery, whether after its birth or in its mother's
womb, he may after seven years be again admitted to com-
munion, but must, for his whole life, remain in penitence and
humility. If he is a cleric, he can never again be placed in
his office, but may, after obtaining communion, only act as
singer. To poisoners, however, even if they have steadfastly
lamented their crime, communion may again be imparted
only at the end of their life.
3. In regard to monks, the ordinance of the Synod of
Agde (c. 27), or Orleans (i. 15—17), shall be confirmed;2 and
it is only to be added that the bishop has the right, with the
assent of the abbot, to ordain for the service of the Church
those monks whom he has known to be qualified. But
anything which has been given to the monasteries as presents
is not at the disposal of the bishop. A layman who wishes
1 Printed in Mansi, t. viii. p. 612 sqq. ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1064 sqq. ; and
in Gonsalez, Collection de Canones de la iglesia Hspanola, Madrid, 1849, t. ii. p.
138 sqq. ; cf. Gams, Kircheng. v. Spanien (1864), Bd. ii. S. 438 tf.
2 According to Hardouin, the addition, vel Aurelianensis, is wanting in
some manuscripts.
134 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
to have a church built by him consecrated, must not withdraw
it from the authority of the bishop under the pretext that it
is a monastic church, whilst no monks are in it and no rule
for it has been drawn up by the bishop. Cf. 34, C. xvi. q. 1,
and C. x. q. 1.
4. Incestuous persons, so long as they remain in their
criminal intercourse, must be admitted only to the Missa
Catechumenorum, and none of the faithful must eat with them,
in accordance with 1 Cor. v. 9 and 11. Cf. c. 9, C. xxxv.
q. 2 and 3.
5. If clerics who serve at the altar have fallen into a sin
of the flesh, but have done penance, it lies in the power of
the bishop to suspend the deeply penitent for no great
length of time, but to separate the more negligent for a longer
time from the body of the Church. They may, after their
restoration, receive their posts again, but they may not be
advanced to higher offices. If they fall back into sin, they
shall not only be deposed, but they shall no longer receive
communion, unless when they draw near to death. Cf. c. 52,
Dist. 1., and c. 2, C. xv. q. 8.
6. If anyone has violated (vim stupri intulerit) a widow
vowed to continence,1 or a nun (virgo religiosa), if he will not
separate from her, must be excluded from the communion, and
from intercourse with Christians. But if the violated woman
has returned to the ascetic life (vita religiosa), then so long as
he does not do public penance, the sentence above mentioned
shall be confirmed.
7. If anyone pledges himself by an oath never to become
reconciled with his opponent, he must, on account of this
sinful oath, be excluded for a year from the communion of the
body and blood of the Lord, and he must blot out his fault by
alms, prayers, and the severest possible fasting, and endeavour,
as soon as possible, to attain to love, " which covers a
multitude of sins" (1 Pet. iv. 8). Cf. c. 11, C. xxii. q. 4.
8. No cleric must take his servant or scholar out of a
church to which he has fled (in order to escape punishment),
1 Vidua pcenitens is a widow who has laid aside the vow of matrimony
in order to live the ascetic life — a pendant to the Vir conversus or pcenitens.
See above, sec. 222.
SYNODS AT ARLES, LERIDA, ETC., A.D. 514 (546). 135
or scourge him. If he does so, he must, until he does penance,
be excluded from the place which he has not honoured (i.e.
the Church). Cf. c. 17, C. xvii. q. 4.
9. In regard to those who have received sinful baptism
(i.e. from a sect), without being constrained by compulsion
or fear of martyrdom, the ordinances (c. 11) of the Synod of
Nicsea on sinners (who have erred without being driven to it
by necessity) shall apply to them, namely, that they must
worship for seven years among the catechumens and two
years among the faithful (in the fourth degree of penitence),
and then, through the kindness of the bishop, again may
assist at the sacrifice and the eucharist.
10. If the bishop shall order anyone, because of any
kind of fault, to go out of the church,1 and he does not obey,
he must, for his obstinacy be punished for a considerable time,
and then receive pardon. Cf. c. 39, C. xi. q. 3.
11. If clerics have fallen into hostility (and have fought),
they must be punished by the bishop in a manner correspond-
ing with their degradation of their office.
12. If a bishop has, in the past, ordained clerics without
proper precautions, may God and the Church forgive him. In
future, however, the canonical ordinances which forbid such
ordinances must come into force. Whoever shall in future
be ordained in contravention of them, must be deposed ; and
those who have already been improperly ordained, shall not
be advanced to higher dignities.
13. If a Catholic lets his children be baptized by heretics,
his offering shall not be received in the Church.
14. The faithful must have no fellowship at all with the
rebaptized, nor even eat with them.
15. Intercourse with strange women has been forbidden
to the clergy by the ancient Fathers. Whoever, after a
second warning, does not correct himself, shall be deprived of
the dignity of his office so long as he perseveres in his error.
When he has corrected himself, he may be restored to the
sacred ministry.
1 Fen-eras in his History of Spain, vol. ii., suggests that, instead of
ab ecdesia exire, we should read ad eeclesiam venire. But certainly no change
is necessary.
136 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
16. When a bishop has died, or is near to death, no cleric
must take anything from the episcopal residence, neither by
violence nor by cunning. Nothing must be carried off secretly,
nothing concealed ; but the episcopal house must be intrusted
to a (clerical) administrator, with one or two assistants, so
that all may be preserved until the admission to office of the
new bishop. Whoever acts otherwise must, as guilty of
sacrilege, be smitten with the prolixiore anathemate (i.e.
excommunicatio major) : to him shall scarcely be given the
communio peregrina (Reus sacrilegii prolixiori anathemate
condemnetur, et vix quoque peregrina ei communio concedatur).1
According to the explanation given above of communio
peregrina (under c. 2 of Agde, sec. 222), our passage gives
this good meaning : " Such clerics shall be excluded from
Church communion for a considerable time ; and they shall
hardly receive that amount of support which is given to
travelling Christians who have no letters of peace with them."
Other ordinances, which the mediaeval collectors of canons
assigned to the Synod of Lerida, are placed here by Mansi (I.e.
p. 616 sqq.).
What has already been said in reference to the time of
the holding of the Synod of Lerida is equally applicable to
that of Valencia in Spam, a large and famous city on the
coast of the Mediterranean which then belonged to the pro-
vince of Toledo, but subsequently formed the metropolis of a
province of its own, Valentiana. This Synod also was held in
the fifteenth year either of Theoderic or of King Theudes, and
on the 4th of December. The Acts are subscribed by six
bishops, Celsinus, Justinus, Eeparatus, Setabius, Benagius, and
Ampellius, and an Archdeacon Sallustius as representative of
his bishop, Marcellinus ; but the sees of these bishops are not
named. Ferraras suggests that the bishop named Celsinus,
who stands at the head of his colleagues, is no other than
Archbishop Celsus of Toledo. If this suggestion is correct,
then our Synod must belong to the fifteenth year of Theoderic,
and so to the year 524 ; for in the year 531 the celebrated
Archbishop Montanus, the successor of Celsus, occupied the
1 After communio some editions have improperly inserted animse ; but
Hardouin corrected the error.
SYNODS AT ARLE9, LERIDA, ETC., A.D. 524 (546). 137
see of Toledo.1 Mansi, however, thought that by Celsinus is
meant the bishop of Valencia who bore this name, who was
present, in 590, at the third Council of Toledo ; and in that
case our Synod would have to be removed to the end of the
sixth century.2 Entire certainty in regard to this chrono-
logical question is not attainable.
The decrees of Valencia 3 have some affinity with those
of Lerida, and thereby show that they are contemporaneous
with them. As at other Synods, so at Valencia, the older
ecclesiastical canons were read aloud and enforced afresh, and
only six additions as special Capitula were added to the Acts : —
1. The Gospel is to be read before the oblation (ante
munerum illationem), or before the dismissal of the cate-
chumens,4 or after the Epistle (Apostolus), so that not only
the faithful, but also the catechumens, penitents, and all others
may hear the word of God and the sermon of the bishop.
For it is well known that through the hearing of preaching
many have been led to the faith. Cf. c. 18 of the first
Synod of Orange (vol. iii. sec. 162).
2. It is peremptorily forbidden to clerics after the death
of the bishop to appropriate anything which he has left
behind. In accordance with the ordinance (c. 6) of the
Synod of Riez (vol. iii. sec. 161), a neighbouring bishop, after
the celebration of the obsequies, should take the oversight of
the orphaned church, and an accurate inventory of the late
bishop's property should be drawn up and sent to the
metropolitan. Afterwards an administrator of the vacant
diocese should be appointed, who should pay their stipends
to the clergy, and give an account to the metropolitan. Cf.
c. 16 of the Synod of Lerida.
3. Even the relations of the departed bishop may not
appropriate anything of what he has left without the
1 Cf. under the second Synod of Toledo of A.D. 531, and Florez, Espana
Sagrada, t. v. p. 247 sqq.
2 Mansi, t. viii. p. 626.
8 In Mansi, t. viii. p. 619 sqq. ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1067 sqq. ; Gonsalez, p.
146 sqq.
4 Instead of ante missam cattchumenorum, Mansi (I.e. p. 620) proposes to
read in missa. But no alteration is necessary, if we take missa in the original
and immediate meaning =dimissio.
138 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
previous knowledge of the metropolitan or of the com-
provincial bishop, so that Church property may not be
mixed with the private property of the testator.
4. It will no longer be allowed that the body of a
departed bishop should remain too long unburied because of
the absence of the episcopus commendator}- Therefore the
bishop on whom the burial by succession devolves shall visit
his sick colleague while he lives, in order either to congratulate
him on his restoration to health, or to exhort him to set his
house in order. He shall give effect to his last wishes ; and
if he dies, he shall first offer the holy sacrifice ( Sacrificium) for
the departed, then bury him, and carry out what is prescribed
in the foregoing canon. If, however, a bishop dies suddenly,
without neighbouring bishops being able to be present, his
body shall be laid out only a day and a night, surrounded
by singing brothers (clerics), monks, and others. Then shall
the priests lay him in a retired place, but not bury him, only
continue in an honourable manner the prayers for him
(honorifice commendetur), until a bishop, called in with all
possible despatch, inter him solemnly and in a fitting manner.
5. If a cleric, or a deacon, or a priest does not remain
steadily at the church which is intrusted to him, but goes
about in an unsettled manner, he shall, as long as he continues
in this fault, be deprived of the communion and his position.
6. No one may ordain a strange cleric without the con-
currence of his bishop. Moreover, the bishop may not ordain
anyone who has not first promised to remain in his position.
Six other canons which, in the collection of Burchard of
Worms are assigned to a Concilium Valentinum, without
indication whether Valencia in Spain or Valence in France is
meant, are in Mansi's collection, t. viii. p. 623.
SEC. 238. Synod at Carthage, A.D. 525.
After the death of the Vandal King Thrasamund (May
28, 523) his successor Hilderic put an end to the protracted
oppression of the Catholics, recalled the banished bishops, and,
1 Commendationes&rz the prayers for the dead, as Du Cange, Glossar. (s. v. ), fully
shows. The commendator is therefore the person who clebrates the obsequies.
SYNOD AT CARTIIAGE, A.D. 525. 139
at the wish of the inhabitants of Carthage, gave his consent
that Boniface, who became afterwards so famous, should be
elected bishop and primate, and should be consecrated in the
Basilica of S. Agileus the Martyr.1 In the sacristy of the
same church Archbishop Boniface held his first Synod, which,
as the Acts declare, began February 5, 525, and was attended
by bishops from the most diverse dioceses of Africa. Their
names, sixty in number, are found in the subscription of the
minutes of the Synod, and there were also many deputies and
representatives of their provinces. The bishops sat, beside
and behind them stood the deacons. Boniface, as president,
spoke first, expressing his great joy at the Synod taking place,
and at the restoration of liberty to the Church, i.e. at the end of
the persecution.2 Another bishop answered him (the minutes
are here defective), spoke of the joy of all in having so
excellent a president as Boniface, and besought him, for the
advantage of the African Church, to procure for the canons
their earlier respect, and to re-establish again the regula-
tions of his lamented predecessor Aurelius.3 Thereupon the
legitimation of the deputies sent from the different provinces
took place ; and Boniface first had his letter read which he
had sent to the Primate4 Missor of Numidia, in which he
requested this metropolitan, who on account of age was himself
unable to appear, to send three plenipotentiaries, and himself
designated those whom he wished to be sent. He also
declared in this letter that it was a principal business of the
Council to bring down the pride of some bishops who wished
to exalt themselves over such as had precedence of them, and,
as it seems, even sought to get rid of their subordination to
the archbishop of Carthage.5 On this account it was neces-
1 Cf. the original documents in Mansi, t viii p. 635.
2 Mansi, t. viii. p. 636 ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1071.
3 Archbishop Aurelius was still alive A.D. 426. After him Quodvultdeus
occupied the see of Carthage only a short time (Baronius, ad ami. 430, n. 74).
He was succeeded by Capreolus, who, as we saw above (sec. 134), wrote, in the
year 431, to the Synod of Ephesus. By an error, Butler (Lives of the Saints)
places the death of Aurelius at A.D. 423.
4 On the word Primas, in the African sense, cf. sec. 109.
5 Scarcely had the African bishops returned from exile and been freed from
persecution when contests about precedence broke out among them, as we
have already seen in the history of the Synods of Junca and Sufes, sec. 236.
140 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
sary that the order of precedence among the African bishops
should now be established by the Synod. He also indicated
to Missor, according to ancient custom, as he said, the day
for the next Easter festival (May 30, 525).1
To the question of the archbishop, whether deputies from
Numidia were present, and had brought with them a letter
from their primate, Bishop Florentius of Vicopacatum answered,
in their name, in the affirmative, and requested that Missor's
letter might be read. The primate of Numidia expressed his
sorrow at the disputes about precedency which had arisen,
and at the wrongs which had been done to Boniface. He
praises his patience and forbearance, but points out that
thereby, and because Boniface had not been willing to settle
the controversy himself, — a duty which was incumbent upon
him, — the insolence of some had grown greater. Boniface, he
said, had indicated three Numidian bishops whom Missor was
to send as deputies to the Synod ; but one of these, Marianus
of Tullia, before the arrival of the letter, had on his own
account set off for the Synod, and therefore Bishop Florentius
had been appointed as the third deputy from Numidia.
As he had no doubt that Januarius (also a Numidian bishop),
the consecrator of Boniface, was present at the Synod, he had
written to him and requested him, with the Numidian
deputies, in the impending controversies, to give assistance
to the side which was in the right.2
Boniface had also addressed letters of invitation to the
bishops of Asia Proconsularis and the province of Tripoli,
which were now read. Deputies were present from these
also, and also from Mauretania Ceesariensis and Sitifensis.
The Primate Liberatus of the province of Byzacene, on the
contrary, in spite of repeated invitations, had not appeared,
on which Boniface expressed himself very freely. On the
following day the bishops requested that, in case he should
not then appear, they should consult on the subject of his
non-appearance, and the Numidian deputy, Bishop Felix, at
the close of a very courteous speech, expressed the wish that
Boniface should now settle to whom the rank next to him
1 Mansi, t. viii. p. 637 sq. ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1072 sq.
2 Mansi, t. viii. p. 638 sq. ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1073 sq.
SYNOD AT CARTHAGE, A.D. 525. 141
should belong. Appealing to the 19th canon of the Synod
of Carthage of A.D. 418 (c. 127 in the Codex Ecclesiae
Africanae), Boniface explained that, according to the ancient
practice of the proconsular province (Carthage), Numidia
came next, and then Byzacene, etc. Whoever should venture
to disturb this order should be deposed. Hereupon he caused
to be read the Creed of Nicaea, and at the request of several,
also a series of such ancient canons, chiefly of African Councils,
as he considered specially suitable for the instruction of the
newly appointed bishops ; among them, at the express wish
of the Synod, those canons also which treated of the pre-
cedence and the privileges of the see of Carthage, or could be
related to the subject. With this closed the session of the
first day, late at night ; and all the bishops present signed the
minutes together with the documents, which had been read,
embodied in them, the canons and the Nicene Creed.1
On the next day, February 6, the bishops assembled again
in the sacristy of the Church of S. Agileus, and Archbishop
Boniface opened this second session with the announce-
ment : Everything which touched the African Church in
general had been brought to an end yesterday, so that they
could now pass on to special business, and settle any requests
and representations of particular persons. The Deacon
Gaudiosus now informed them that the Abbot Peter, with
some older monks from his monastery, stood at the door and
asked permission to appear before the Synod. When Boni-
face granted the request, the Abbot Peter presented in his own
name and in the name of his monks an accusation in writing
against Liberatus, the primate of the province of Byzacene,
who had, at the numerous Synods held by him, endeavoured
to bring ruin upon their monastery, and had irregularly
inflicted the heavier excommunication upon them. The
assembled bishops were therefore requested to interest them-
selves in the monks, as they had never failed either in regard
to the faith or in regard to good morals.
After the hearing of this memorial, which was embodied
1 Mansi, t. viii. pp. 640-648 ; Hardouin, t. ii. pp. 1074-1082. On the order
of precedence in the African Church, cf. Norisii Opp. ed. Bailer, t. iv. p.
1027 sqq.
142 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
in the Acts, Archbishop Boniface expressed his displeasure
with Liberatus, who had disquieted the monks, and had
refused to recognise the privileges of the see of Carthage,
and ordered the reading of all the letters relating to this
controversy. The first of these, an earlier letter of Abbot
Peter to Archbishop Boniface, explained the nature of the
special business. So long as there was no bishop at Carthage
on account of the persecution, the monks had requested the
primate of the province of Byzacene, who was near to them,
to ordain one of their number as an ecclesiastic for the needs
of the monastery. This was done, and from this Liberatus
had now inferred that the monastery was subject to him,
whilst it was only in the archbishop of Carthage that they
recognised their spiritual superior.
The second document was the letter from Liberatus to
Archbishop Boniface of Carthage, presented at the Synod of
Junca, which has been mentioned above (sec. 236), and in
which the assurance is given that full ecclesiastical liberty
prevailed in the province of Byzacene. On this followed,
as third document, the answer which Boniface had then
given to Liberatus and to the Council of Junca. After a
very courteous introduction, Liberatus is exhorted to put
away everything which might interrupt the peace of the
Church, and then it is definitely declared that it was im-
possible to agree with what had been brought back, by word
of mouth, by the deputies from the Synod of Junca, or to
alter the old Church laws (i.e. in reference to the rights of
the see of Carthage). At the close the time for the next
Easter festival (for A.D. 524) is given.
The fourth document is again a letter of Abbot Peter and
his monks to Archbishop Boniface, composed probably about
the same time, when the Synod of Junca had sent their
deputies to Carthage with verbal messages (also in reference
to the monastery in question). In this letter was set forth
again the wrong done by Liberatus, and the principle asserted
that the monastery whose monks were born in all parts of
Africa, and also in lands beyond the sea, should not be sub-
jected to one single bishop, nor the monks be treated by him
as though they were his own clergy. Besides, Abbot Peter
SYNOD AT CARPENTRAS, A.D. 527. 143
brought forward two passages from Augustine, a letter of the
earlier primate of the province of Byzacene, and the decree
of the Synod of Aries of the year 455 (on the dispute about
jurisdiction between Bishop Theodore of Frej'us and Abbot
Faustus of Le'rins) in proof that convents of monks and nuns
were not subject to the nearest bishop, but had been free.
Here end the minutes of our Synod : the rest are wanting,
and we know only, in addition, from a Lombardian Codex in
the Vatican Library, that this decree was drawn up : That all
monasteries for the future shall, as hitherto, a conditione cleri-
corum omnibus modis, be free and independent.1 Some notes
on the close of our Synod are also given by the universal
Council of Carthage of A.D. 535. See below, sec. 248.
SEC. 239. Synod at Carpentras, A.D. 527.
In the subscription of Archbishop Caesarius of Aries, the
President of the Synod of Carpentoractum in Grallia Narbon-
ensis, this assembly is expressly ascribed to the consulate of
Mavortius, i.e. to the year 527 A.D. and the 6th of November.2
Mansi (I.e. p. 710) conjectured that it was originally put
P. C. Mavortii, i.e. after the consulate of Mavortius, and then
the year 528 would have been meant. His chief reasons are :
(a) The Synod of Carpentras ordained that in the following
year, again on November 6, a new Synod should be held at
Vaison. Since this latter, as we shall see further on,
decidedly belongs to the year 529, that of Carpentras must
be assigned to 528. (J) Moreover, in the year 528 the 6th
of November fell upon a Monday (in the year 527, on the
contrary, as we add, on a Saturday),3 and it was the ancient
practice to open Synods on a Monday and not on a Saturday
1 Mansi, t. viii. pp. 648-656 ; Hardouin, t. ii. pp. 1082-1090. The expression
"to be free ab omni conditione clericorum," is translated by Remi Ceillier
(t. xvi. p. 679) by " free from their jurisdictions." So Richard, Analysis Con-
di, t. i. p. 507.
2 Mansi, t. viii. pp. 708 and 709, note 1 ; Sinnond, Concilia Gallise, t. i. pp.
212 and 604 ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1095.
8 In the year 587, Easter fell on April 4, so that November 6 was a
Saturday. Cf. Weidenbach, Calendarium Hist.-Christianum, 1855, pp. 86
and 41.
144 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
(or to hold, for the Synod of Carpentras lasted scarcely
longer than one day, as they drew up only one canon).
We hold these arguments to be lacking in force, since it
was in no way the universal rule to open Synods on a
Monday ; on the contrary, the ancient ordinances on this
point fix a definite day of the month, which might fall upon
the most different days of the week (cf. c. 7 of the Synod of
Macon, A.D. 578). Moreover, we must not forget that many
ecclesiastical assemblies were held, not at the time originally
fixed, but often at a considerably later time ; and to suppose
that this was the case at the Synod of Vaison is more probable
than the violent altering of the date for that of Carpentras.
The only canon of this Synod has reference to the securing
of the revenues of the rural churches, in opposition to the
bishops. In this canon it is said : A complaint has been
made, that some bishops give up to the parishes only little,
or nothing at all, of what the faithful have contributed
to them. Therefore it is decreed : If the church in the
bishop's city is sufficiently endowed, then anything which has
been presented to the parishes must be expended for the
clergy who serve in them, or for the repair of these churches.
If however, the bishop's church has too slender revenues, then
there shall be left for the rural parishes and the maintenance
of their buildings only so much as is sufficient; and the
bishop may appropriate what is over for himself. Only he
must not diminish the revenues (facultatida) l of the clergymen
(in the parish) or the service of the church (so also the
number of the clergy). Finally, it was decreed that, in the
following year, on November 6, a Synod should again be held,
and at Vaison.
These minutes are subscribed by sixteen bishops,
Caesarius (of Aries) at their head, almost all with the addition
Peccator, and without calling themselves bishops. Besides,
the Synod addressed a letter to Bishop Agroecius of Antipolis
(Antibes), who had appeared neither personally nor by a
plenipotentiary, although he had been required to give an
account of an ordination in which he had violated the third
canon of the recent Synod at Aries (sec. 237) which had been
1 Cf. Du Cange, Glossar. s.v. facultaticula.
SYNOD AT DOVIN, IN ARMENIA, A.D. 527. 145
subscribed by his own representative. For this reason he
must not celebrate Mass for a year in accordance with the
ordinance of Aries. This letter was also subscribed by all
the sixteen bishops, this time with the addition of their title,
but without naming their sees.1
SEC. 240. Synod at Dovin, in Armenia, A.D. 527.
The Theatine Clemens Galanus, celebrated for his pro-
tracted missionary activity in the East, as well as for his
Historia Armena ecclesiastica et politico, (1650), in this work
gives an account of an Armenian Synod which the Catholicus
Nerses of Aschtarag held, in the year 536, with ten bishops
in the Armenian city Thevin (more correctly Dovin). At
this Synod the doctrine of one nature in Christ was declared ;
the Council of Chalcedon, which the Armenians hitherto
had recognised was rejected, and the Armenian schism
begun.
This relation of Galanus was followed by all the older
scholars, particularly by Pagi (ad ann. 535, n. 13) and Mansi
(t. viii p. 871), until the famous Armenian national history
by Tschamtschean appeared at Venice in the year 1785. In
the second volume of this work (p. 237 sqq., and p. 527) a
very complete account of our Synod is given, and a quantity
of older notices relating to it collected. It is shown that the
rejection of the Council of Chalcedon in question did not
proceed from this Synod, but from other Armenian Synods.
So early as the year 491, at the Synod held at Walarschapat
under the Catholicus Babgen, the opposition of the Armenians
to the Chalcedonian faith had begun ; whilst the schism was
not completed until the year 596 by a later Synod at Dovin
under the Catholicus Abraham. Tschamtschean also removes
our Synod to the year 527, and gives us the substance of
thirty-eight .canons there passed : 2-
1 Mansi, t. viii. p. 708 sqq.; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1095 sq. ; Sirmond, I.e. ;
Hixtoire litttraire de la France, t. iii. p. 144.
3 For this notice, and the following summary of the thirty-eight canons on
Dovin, I am indebted to the kindness of my friend Dr. Welte, and the notice of
the Synod of Feyin or Foyin (a misprint for Devin or Dovin) in the first edition
of the Kirchcrilexicmi must be corrected in accordance with this account.
IV. 10
146 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
1. Gifts for priests must be brought into the church, and
not into the house of any priest.
2. The priests must receive these gifts and presents with-
out selfishness at the sacrifice of the Mass.
3. Church property must not be given out on interest.
4. Simony is forbidden, and a layman may not exercise
ecclesiastical functions.
5. Bigamous servants of the Church are to be deposed,
and must receive no income from the Church.
6. Priests who do not officiate on festivals shall be
deprived of their income for that day.
7. Priests must not, on account of the poverty of their
Church, lessen the communion chalice.
8. Nor must they use new wine at the communion.
9. The curtain of the tabernacle must not be brought
into the house of a bride or a bridegroom.
10. Priests must not give baptismal water to other people,
especially not to women, for the baptism of children.
11. Among priests the oldest according to ordination has
the precedence.
12. Without a priest the other servants of the Church
must not celebrate divine service.
13. A priest must not wear secular clothes, particularly
not the clothes of a soldier.
1 4. The gifts of the Church shall be distributed according
to a rule. Priests shall have two parts, deacons a part and a
half, the inferior servants of the Church and widows (if they
are needy) one part.
15. The furniture of the church shall be preserved by
the archpriest. He must live in the church.
16. Baptism is to be administered in the church, and
only in case of necessity in the house.
17. At baptism, married women may not assist as
deaconesses.
1 8. No deacon may administer baptism without necessity.
19. No priest must receive money for the sacrament of
penance.
20. A priest who violates the secrecy of confession must
be anathematised.
SYNOD AT DOVIN, IN AEMENIA, A.D. 527. 147
21. There must be no common place of burial in the church.
22. Priests must not take interest.
23. The Agapse destined for the poor may not be given
away by the priests at their pleasure, but must be divided
immediately among the poor in the presence of the givers.
24. No one must partake of anything before communion ;
and if the clergy know that anyone has already done so, he
must not communicate him.
25. Children must wear no garland. (?)
26. A virgin and a widow must not be garlanded together.(?)
27. Priests must not at their own pleasure select the
cattle which shall be given as sacrifices of compassion (for the
clergy and the poor).
28. When such animals are presented, the priests must
not keep them living, but must slay them, and divide them
among the poor.
29. Everyone is required to keep the Lenten fast and
other fasts.
30. On the great Sabbath of the kindling of lights
(Saturday in Holy Week) no one must communicate before
the sacrifice of the Mass.1
31. Laymen must not put forth orders in opposition to
the ordinances of the priests.
32. No priest must be found intoxicated or carousing;
nor may he have a female slave purchased with money, and
make profit by her prostitution.
33. No woman shall visit a monastery for men, either to
bake bread or to milk the cows, or for any kind of business
whatever.
34 Anchorites must return to their cells before the
setting of the sun.
35. Monks must not pass the night in the houses of
1 Easter Eve- is called the Sabbath of the kindling of lights, because on this
day new light was kindled in the Church, and fire and tapers were consecrated.
It was common on this day to give to the newly-baptized catechumens the
communion immediately after their baptism and before the Mass — which is here
forbidden. Moreover, since the Mass on Easter Eve was celebrated towards
evening, here and there the custom might creep in, that many should com-
municate before Mass ; for it was required that all should communicate on this
day. Of. Binterim, Denkwiirdigkeiten, Bd. v. Thl. i. S. 225, 228.
148 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
people of the world, but, when possible, always in a monastery ;
and when none is accessible, with the archpriest of the place.
36. Monks must not carry on trades, nor keep houses
and the like.
37. No one shall harbour heretics in his house.
38. In every month there shall be a fast-day on a
Saturday.
SEC. 241. Second Synod of Toledo, A.D. 527 or 531.
In many manuscripts of the old collections of canons the
Synodus Toletana II. is found with the superscription : Sub
die xvi. Kalendas Junias anno guinto regni domini nostri
Amalarici regis cera 565. As we know, the Spanish era
begins from the year 3 8 before Christ ; and therefore the
year 565 of this chronology is identical with 527 of the
Dionysian. Baronius (ad ann. 531, n. 12 sqq.) and Pagi
(ad ann. 531, n. 9) thought, in respect to this matter of the
era, that an ancient clerical error had been made in the date
of the Synod, and that we should remove it to 531, because
in the superscription the fifth year of King Amalaric is
expressly named. From this they assumed that the regnant
years of Amalaric were numbered from the death of his
grandfather and guardian ; and as he, the East Gothic King
Theoderic the Great, died in the year 526, the fifth year of
Amalaric could be no other than 531 of our era. In opposi-
tion to this the Spanish scholars, Aguirre, Ferreras, and
Florez thought they could reconcile the two statements of
the superscription, — the year 565 of the Spanish era and the
fifth year of Amalaric, — since Theoderic the Great laid down
the guardianship of his grandson in the year 523, and there-
fore the regnant years of the latter must have been counted
from 523.1 In this case his fifth year agrees with our year
527. I have no doubt that this suggestion is the correct
one, and that the second Synod of Toledo ought accordingly
to be assigned to May 17, 527; but one of the principal
reasons which the Spanish scholars adduce is, in my judgment,
1 Aguirre, Concil. Hisp. t. i. p. 267 ; Ferreras, Hist, of Spain, ii. ; Florez,
Espana Sagrada, t. ii. p. 192, and t. vi. p. 130 sqq.
SECOND SYNOD OF TOLEDO, A.D. 527 OR 631. 149
quite invalid. In order to show that in Spain, in ancient
times, the reign of Amalaric was actually dated from the
year 523, they appeal to Ildefonsus of Toledo, who, in his
treatise, De Scriptoribus ecclesiasticis, on Archbishop Montanus
of Toledo, who presided over our Synod, says : " He ruled the
Church of Toledo for nine years (522-531) under King
Amalaric." Ildefonsus, however, says only : " He was famous
in the time of Amalaric, and held his post for nine years," l
from which we cannot draw their conclusion.
Entirely without foundation, and long ago refuted by
Pagi (I.e.), was the supposition of Baronius, that the second
Synod of Toledo was held, not under Amalaric, but under
his successor Theudis. The latter, during the minority of
Amalaric, was raised by Theoderic the Great to be Viceroy
or Governor of Spain, and early showed little fidelity, so that,
in great measure from dislike to him, Theoderic so soon laid
down his guardianship. Soon Theudis wanted to rise higher.
Amalaric had married the Prankish Princess Clothilde, but
persecuted her on account of her religion to such an extent
that her brother, the Merovingian King Childebert of Paris
(a son of Chlodwig), made war upon his brother-in-law.
Amalaric here lost his life ; and as he died childless, the West
Goths now elected Theudis for their king.2 Immediately
after this elevation of Theudis, Baronius thinks, our Synod
was held ; but, in the first place, the accession of Theudis
happened in the year 532,3 and besides, King Amalaric is
expressly mentioned, not orly in the superscription of the
synodal Acts, but also in the text, after canon 5.
There were present at Toledo, under the presidency of
the Metropolitan Montanus, seven other Spanish bishops :
Nebridius of Egara, Justus of Urgelis, Pangarius, Cannonius,
Paulus, Domitian, and Maracinus. The sees of the last five are
unknown. Of Maracinus it is added, that he resided at Toledo
as an exile. By whom and for what reason he was banished
is not said. The assembly declared the permanent validity of
the older Church ordinances, and decreed anew as follows : —
1. Those who, as children, were dedicated by their
1 In Fabrieii Bibliotheca Eceles. p. 62 (of the second series of side numbers).
- Ferreras, I.e. 200 aud 208. 3 Fen-eras, I.e. 216, 219.
150 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
parents to the clerical office shall, soon after receiving the
tonsure, or after admission to the office of lector (instead of
ministerio electorum, we must certainly read lectorum), be
instructed by one set over them in a building belonging to
the Church, under the eyes of the bishop. If they have
reached the age of eighteen, the bishop should ask them
whether they wish to marry. If they choose celibacy, and
vow its observance then shall they be dedicated to the sweet
yoke of the Lord, at twenty years of age as subdeacons, and,
if they are worthy, as deacons after the completion of their
twenty-fifth year. Yet care must be taken that they do not,
unmindful of their vow, contract matrimony, or practise
secret cohabitation. If they do this, they must, as guilty of
sacrilege, be excommunicated. If, however, at the time that
the bishop asks them they declare their intention to enter
into matrimony, the permission granted by the apostle (1 Cor.
vii. 2, 9) shall not be withheld from them. If in more
advanced years they, as married, with the consent of the
other partner, take a vow of abstinence from the works of
the flesh, then they may rise to the sacred offices. — Taken
into the Corpus jur. can. c. 5, Dist. xxviii.
2. If anyone is thus educated from his youth for one
church, he must not go even to another, and no strange
bishop must receive such an one.
3. No cleric, from a subdeacon onwards, may live along
with a woman, be she free, freed, or a slave. Only a mother,
or a sister, or a near relation is allowed to take care of his
house. If he has no near relation, then the woman who
takes care of the house must live in another house, and
under no pretext enter his dwelling. Whoever acts in
opposition to this shall not only lose his clerical office and
the doors of the church be closed, but he shall be excluded
from the communion of all Catholics, of laymen also, even
from speech with them.
4. If a cleric has laid out, on ground belonging to the
Church, vineyards or small fields for his own sustenance,
he may retain them to the end of his life, but then they fall
to the Church ; and he must not dispose of them by testament
to anyone, unless the bishop allows it.
SECOND SYNOD OF TOLEDO, A.D. 527 OR 531. 151
5. No Christian is allowed to marry a blood-relation.
At the close, the observance of these canons is declared
to be the duty even of those bishops of the province who
were not present. Archbishop Montanus is requested to give
early notice of each new Synod, and long life is wished to
King Amalaric.1
As a kind of appendix to this Synod, the Collections of
Councils add two letters of Archbishop Montanus. The first,
addressed to the faithful of the district of Palentia, blames
the priests there, that they ventured themselves to consecrate
the chrism. Such encroachments were forbidden, even in the
Old Testament, and it was ordained by the synodal canons
that the parochienses presbyteri (this expression occurs here
for the first time) should either personally, or through the
Hectares Sacrariorum? but not through less important persons,
annually request the chrism from the bishop. He further
complains that several of these priests had invited quite
strange bishops for the consecration of churches, and that, in
word and deed, they had supported the Priscillianist heresy.3
The second letter of Archbishop Montanus presents
several difficulties.4 That Theoribius, or Turibius, to whom
it is addressed, was a distinguished man, is clear from the
titles which Montanus gives him : Domino eximio prcecipuoque
Christicolce, Domino et filio. The context of the letter also
shows that formerly, as a secular person, he had held a high
office, probably that of governor, and in this position he
had, in his district, completely put down the still existing
heathenism, and also had greatly weakened the Priscillianist
sect, on which account Montanus gives him praise. Sub-
sequently Turibius abandoned the world, as is indicated by
the words in the letter : Gum adhuc floreres in seculo ; and as
Ferreras, in his History of Spain (vol. ii. sec. 252 sqq.), expressly
1 Mansi, t.- viii. p. 784 sqq. ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1139 sqq. ; Gonzalez, Col-
lection de Canones de la iglesia Espaftola, Madrid 1849, t. ii. p. 202 sqq. ;
Gams, Kirchengeschichte von Spanien, 1864, Bd. i. S. 446 ff.
2 The Rector Sacrarii is the cleric appointed to be custos of the church. Cf.
Du Cange, Olossar. s. v. Sacrarium, t. vi. p. 35.
8 Mansi, t. viii. p. 788 sqq. ; Hardouin, t ii. p. 1142 ; Gonzalez, I.e. p.
208 sqq. ; Gams, I.e. S. 449.
4 Mansi, t. viii. p. 790 ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1144 ; Gonzalez, I.e. p. 211 sq.
152 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
asserts. He was indeed one of the principal promoters of
Monasticism in Spain, and founder of the monastery of S.
Toribio, on the northern coast of Spain, in the province of
Burgos. The high regard in which, for this reason, he was
held procured for him great influence, and this explains how
Archbishop Montanus should call upon him to use his in-
fluence, as that of a Severissimus sacerdos, in order to put a
stop to the irregularity of the priests in Palentia with regard
to the chrism. Montanus then further discusses, in an
obscure manner not quite intelligible to us,1 the second point
of complaint against the people of Palentia in regard to the
calling in of strange bishops. Turibius seems to have upheld
this irregularity, on which account Montanus threatens to
bring an accusation against him before the King and (the
Governor) Erganes. This last part of the letter agrees little
with the courtesy of the first half.
SEC. 242. Second Synod at Orange, and Synod at
Valence, A.D. 529.
One of the most important Synods of the sixth century
was the Arausicana Secunda, which was held July 3, 529, at
Orange (Arausio), in Southern Gaul. Occasion for it was
given by the consecration of a church newly built at Orange
by the Praefectus Prsetorio for Gaul, liberius. Under the
imitation of this highly distinguished man, Archbishop
Caesarius of Aries, and the Bishops Julian, Constantius,
Cyprian, Eucherius, a second Eucherius, Heraclius, Prin-
cipius, Philagrius, Maximus, Prsetextatus, Alethius, Luper-
cianus, and Vindemialis assembled at Orange. The sees of
these fourteen bishops are not mentioned. Csesarius, who
first subscribed the minutes, added to his subscription the
following chronological note : Decio Juniore V. C. Consule.
This points to the year 529, and shows that Baronius and
many of the older scholars had been quite mistaken in re-
moving our Synod to the times of Leo the Great.2 At that
1 Cf. Gams, I.e. S. 450 sq.
2 Cf. Noris, Historia Pelagiaiut, lib. ii. c. 33 ; Sirmond, Condi. Oallise, t.
i. p. 605 : and the notes of Binius in Mansi, t. viii. p. 720.
SYNODS AT ORANGE AND VALENCE, A.D. 529. 153
time, as we know, Hilary occupied the see of Aries, and
Csesarius was not yet born.
The inaccuracy of that earlier assertion is plain from this,
that the Praetorian Prefect Liberius founded the new church
at Orange, and joined in subscribing the minutes of the
Synod. This man also belongs to the sixth century, and was
appointed by the East Gothic King Theoderic the Great as
his Viceroy over the most recently annexed parts of Gallia
Narbonensis.1 He discharged his office also under Theoderic's
successor and grandson Amalaric, and to his kingdom Orange
belonged at the time of our Synod. Felix iv. at that time
sat on the papal throne. In the preface to the minutes the
bishops state that they had assembled into a Synod on the
occasion of the consecration of that church ; and that, on
account of those who did not think rightly on the subject of
grace and free will (the Semipelagians), at the exhortation of
the apostolic see they had received and subscribed some
Capitula sent to them by this see. These were collected
from the books of the holy Fathers, and were quite adopted
for the instruction of the erring. Therefore it was necessary
that those who hitherto had not had the true faith respecting
grace and free will should, after the perusal of these Capitula,
turn their heart to the Catholic faith.2
Archbishop Cresarius of Aries, like Faustus of Eiez and
other Semipelagians, had been formerly a monk in the
monastery at Le'rins ; but he held it for his sacred duty to
oppose the Semipelagian heresy, which extended more and
more after the death of Faustus (493); therefore he wrote,
for the defence of the Augustinian doctrine, his once famous
work, De Gratia et libero Arbitrio, a refutation of the work
of Faustus with the same title. Pope Felix iv. commended
the work of Caesarius in a special brief, and endeavoured
to circulate it. In spite of this it is lost.3 Caesarius also
acquainted the Pope with the doings of the Semipelagians
1 See above, sec. 237 ; and Sirroond, Condi. GaZlise, t. i. p. 604, in the notes
to the fourth Synod of Aries ; cf. the notes b and c of Binius, in Mansi, t. viii.
p. 720.
- Mansi, t. viii. p. 712 ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1007.
3 Noris, Hist. Pelag. lib. ii. c. 22.
154 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
in Gaul, and asked him for his assistance in suppressing the
error. In his answer Pope Felix iv. sent him a number of
Capitula, which were borrowed, some more, some less, literally
from the writings of Augustine (and partly also of Prosper) ;
but which were characterised by the Synod in the Praefatio
as propositions of the antiqui patres, because Leo I., Pope
Gelasius, Prosper of Aquitaine, and others had put forth the
same statements and propositions as Augustine, often with
literal uniformity.1
From what books of Augustine the particular Capitula of
our Synod were taken, is a question which has been examined
with great industry by Binius and others, particularly the
monks of S. Maur in their edition of S. Augustine (where
they have also in vol. x. printed the Capitula of Orange). In
almost all cases they have found the passages.2 In the minutes
of our Synod twenty-five such Capitula are found ; it must,
however, remain undecided whether the whole of these in
their completeness had come from Borne, or whether the
Synod may have omitted anything, or added anything of its
own. A Codex, formerly belonging to the Benedictine
monastery of S. Maximus at Trier, contains nineteen
Capitula Sancti Augustini professing to be sent from Eome,
which are generally identical with those of Orange, and may
possibly be a copy of the original which came from Eome.3
The high importance of the Chapters of Orange makes it de-
sirable to append the original Latin text to the outline of the
contents of each number. This is done in Sirmond, Concilia
Gallic?-, t. i. p. 216 sqq. ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1098 sqq. ; Mansi, t.
1 Noris, I.e. ii. c. 23.
2 In Mansi, t. viii. p. 721, and Hardouin (t. ii. p. 1098 sqq. in the margin), as
well as in the Benedictine edition of S. Augustine, the passages in question from
S. Augustine, and from the sentences of Augustine collected by Prosper, are often
given incorrectly. A more accurate reference is here added to each Capitulum.
The Ballerini maintain, in their edition of the Works of Cardinal Norris (t. iv.
p. 889), that eight chapters of Orange are taken from the Epistle of Augustine
to Vitalis, more exactly from the 12 Sententise contra Pelagianos contained in it
(Epist. 217, c. 5. Earlier, Epist. 107, in Migne, t. ii. p. 984). But between the
one and the other there is no such literal agreement as between other passages
of Augustine and the Synod of Orange.
3 Reprinted in Mansi, t. viii. p. 722 ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1102. Cf. the
Obscrvatio Philippi Labbei in Mansi, I.e.
SYNODS AT ORANGE AND VALENCE, A.D. 529. 155
viii. p. 712 sqq. : Bruns, Bibliotheca Ecclesiastica, vol. i. pt. ii.
p. 177 sqq.; and in the tenth volume of the Benedictine
edition of St. Augustine, ed. Migne, t. x. p. 1785 sqq., and
ed. Gaume, t. x. p. 2447 sqq.
It is further to be remarked that the Council of Trent made
large use of the canons of Orange in its canons De Justificatione.
1. The sin of Adam has injured not only the body, but also
the soul of man.
Si quis per offensam praevaricationis Adse non totium, id est
secundum corpus et animam, in deterius dicit hominem commu-
tatum, sed animae libertate illaesa durante corpus tantummodo
corruptioni credit obnoxium, Pelagii errore deceptus adversatur
Scripture dicenti : Anima quce peccaverit ipsa morietur (Ezech.
xviii. 20) ; et : Nescitis quoniam cui exhibetis vos servos ad obedi-
endum, servi estis ejus cui dbeditis ? (Eom. vi. 1 6) ; et : A quo
quis superatur, ejus et servus addicitur (2 Pet. ii. 19).
The like is found in Augustine, De Nuptiis et Concupis-
centia, lib. ii. c. 34; ed. Migne, t. x. p. 471.
2. The sin of Adam has injured not only himself but his
posterity ; and not merely the death of the body, but also sin,
the death of the soul, has by one man come into the world.
Si quis soli Adas praevaricationem suam, non et ejus pro-
pagini asserit nocuisse, aut certe mortem tantum corporis, quse
poena peccati est, non autem et peccatum quod mors est
animse, per unuin hominem in omne genus humanum trans-
iisse testatur, injustitiam Deo dabit, contradicens apostolo
dicenti : Per unum hominem peccatum intravit in mundum et
per peccatum mors, et ita in omnes homines mors pertransit, in
quo omnes peccaverunt (Eom. v. 12).
The like is taught by Augustine, Contra duos epistolas
Pelagianorum, lib. iv. c. 4 ; ed. Migne, x. 6 1 2 sqq.
3. Grace is not only granted when we pray for it, but
grace itself works in us to pray for it.
Si quis ad invocationem humanam gratiam Dei dicit
posse conferri, non autem ipsam gratiam facere ut invocetur
a nobis, contradicit Isaiae prophetse vel apostolo idem dicenti :
Inventus sum a non qucerentibus me ; palam apparui his qui
me non interrogabant (Isa. Ixv. 1 ; Eom. x. 20).
4. God does not wait for our desire to be cleansed from
156 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
sin, but HE works this desire in us Himself by means of His
Spirit (cf. Kuhn, " The Natural and the Supernatural," in the
Tubing. 'Theol. Quartalschrift, 1864, S. 293 sq.).
Si quis ut a peccato purgemur voluntatem nostram Deum
exspectare contendit, non autem ut etiam purgari velimus, per
Sancti Spiritus infusionem et operationem in nos fieri confite-
tur, resistit ipsi Spiritui Sancto per Salomonem dicenti :
Prceparatur wluntas a Domino} et Apostolo salubriter pnedi-
canti: Dem est qui operatur in wbis et velle et perficere pro
bona voluntate (Phil. ii. 13).
5. As the growth, so also the beginning of faith, the dis-
position for faith, is wrought by grace, and is not in us by
nature. Were this faith naturally in us, then all who are
\not Christians would necessarily be believers.
Si quis sicut augmentum, ita etiam initium fidei ipsumque
credulitatis affectum, quo in eum credimus qui justificat
impium, et ad generationem sacri baptismatis pervenimus,
non per gratise donum, id est per inspirationem Spiritus
Sancti corrigentem voluntatem nostram ab infidelitate ad
fidem, ab impietate ad pietatem, sed naturaliter nobis inesse
dicit, apostolicis dogmatibus adversarius approbatur, beato
raulo dicenti : Confidimus quia qui ccepit in vobis bonum opus,
verficiet usque in diem Domini nostri Jesu Christi (Phil. i. 6) ;
et illud : Vobis datum est pro Christo non solum ut in Eum
credatis, sed etiam ut pro Illo patiamini (Phil. i. 29); et:
Gratia salm facti esti per fidem, et hoc non ex vobis ; Dei
enim donum est (Eph. ii. 8). Qui enim fidem qua in Deum
credimus dicunt esse naturalem, omnes eos qui ab Ecclesia
Christi alieni sunt, quodammodo fideles esse definiunt.
This is the principal content of cc. 1—9 of Augustine's
treatise, De Prcedestinat. Sanctorum, ed. Migne, t. x. p. 9 5 9 sqq.
6. It is not correct to say that the divine mercy is
imparted to us when we (by our own strength) believe, knock,
etc. Rather it is divine grace which works in us, so that we
believe, knock, etc. Grace not merely helps the humility
and obedience of man, but it is the gift of grace that he is
\ humble and obedient.
1 Prov. viii. 35. According to the text of the LXX. : *«< \n>iu.aZ,iTKi fi^nns
•jrupa, xupitv. The Hebrew and the Vulgate give quite a different meaning.
SYNODS AT ORANGE AND VALENCE, A.D. 529. 157
Si quis sine gratia Dei credentibus, volentibus, desider-
antibus, conantibus, laborautibus, vigilantibus, studentibus,
potentibus, quaerentibus, pulsantibus nobis misericordiam
dicit conferri divinitus, non autem ut credamus, velimus vel
haec omnia sicut oportet agere valeamus, per infusionem et
inspirationem Sancti Spiritus in nobis fieri confitetur, et aut
humilitati aut obedientiae humanae subjungit gratiae adjutorium,
nee ut obedientes et humiles simus ipsius gratiae donum esse
consentit, resistit apostolo dicenti: Quid habes quod non
accepisti ? et : Gratia Dei sum quod sum (1 Cor. iv. 7).
Of. Augustine, De Dono Perseverantice, c. 23, n. 64, ed.
Migne, t. x. p. 1302 ; and Prosper, Contra Collatorem, c. 2, n.
6 (ib. p. 1804).
7. Without grace, and merely from natural powers, we
can do nothing which belongs to eternal salvation ; neither
think nor will in a proper manner (ut expedit), nor consent to
the preaching of the gospel.
Si quis per naturae vigorem bonum aliquid, quod ad
salutem pertinet vitas eternae, cogitare ut expedit aut eligere,
sive salutari, id est, evangelicae praedicationi consentire posse
confirmat absque illuminatione et inspiratione Spiritus Sancti,
qui dat omnibus suavitatem in consentiendo et credendo veri-
tati, haeretico fallitur spiritu, non intelligens vocem Dei in
evangelic dicentis : Sine me nihil potestis facere (Joann. xv. 5),
et illud Apostoli : Non quod idonei simus cogitare aliquid a nobis,
quasi ex nobis, sed sufficientia nostra ex Deo est (2 Cor. iii. 5).
Cf. Augustine, De Gratia Christi, lib. L c. 26 ; ed.
Migne, t. x. p. 374.
8. It is not correct to say that some attain to the grace
of baptism by the mercy of God, others by their own free
will, which was weakened by Adam's sin.
Si quis alios misericordia, alios vero per liberum arbitrium,
quod in omnibus qui de praevaricatione primi hominis nati
sunt constat- esse vitium, ad gratiam baptismi posse venire
contendit, a recta fide probatur alienus. Is enim non l omnium
1 In Mansi and Hardouin non is lacking, whilst Sirmond found it in his
MSS. The connection demands the negative, as the following sentence shows
that it is the Semipelagian error and not the Church doctrine which is here in
question.
158 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
liberum arbitrium per peccatum primi hominis infirmatum,
aut certe ita laesum putat, ut tamen quidam valeant sine
revelatione Dei mysterium salutis seternae per semetipsos posse
conquirere. Quod quam sit contrarium ipse Dominus probat,
qui non aliquos, sed neminem ad se posse venire testatur nisi
quern Pater attraxerit (Joann. vi. 44), sicut et Petro dicit :
Beatus es, Simon JBarjona, quid, caro et sanguis non revelavit tibi,
sed Pater meus qui in codis est (Matt. xvi. 17) ; et Apostolus :
Nemo potest dicere Dominum Jesum nisi in Spiritu Sancto
(I Cor. xii. 3).
The like is found in Prosper, Contra Collatorem, c. 5, n.
13 ; c. 13, n. 38 ; and c. 19, n. 55, in the Responsrio to the
sixth Definition of Cassian (in Migne's ed. of S. Augustine's
Works, t. x. pp. 1807, 1818, and 1829).
9. All good thoughts and works are the gift of God.1
Divini est muneris cum et recte cogitamus, et pedes
nostros a falsitate et injustitia continemus ; quoties enim
bona agimus, Deus in nobis atque nobiscum ut operemur
operatur.
This is verbally identical with the twenty-second Sen-
tentia in S. Prosperi Sententice ex Augustino delibatce, in the
Works of St. Augustine, ed. Migne, t. x. p. 1861.
10. Even the saints need divine aid.
Adjutorium Dei etiam renatis ac sanctis semper est
implorandum, ut ad finem bonum pervenire vel in bono
possint opere perdurare.
Prosper maintains the like against Cassian in his treatise
Contra Collatorem, c. 11, n. 31—36, especially n. 34; Migne,
Opp. S. Augustini, t. x. p. 1815 sqq.
11. We can vow nothing to God but what we have first
received from Him.
Nemo quidquam Domino recte voveret, nisi ab Ipso
acciperet quod voveret, sicut legitur: Quce de manu tua
accepimus damus Tibi (1 Chron. xxx. 14).
Taken from Augustine, De Civ. Dei, lib. xvii. c. 4, n. 7
(ed. Migne, t. vii. p. 530), and forms the 54th sentence in
Prosper, see above, c. 9.
1 From c. 9 onwards the numbers have no longer the form of canons, but of
propositions.
SYNODS AT ORANGE AND VALENCE, A.D. 529. 159
12. What in us is loved by God is God's own gift.
Tales nos amat Deus, quales futuri sumus Ipsius dono,
non quales sumus nostro merito.
This is the 56th Sentence in Prosper. See c. 9.
13. The free will weakened in Adam is restored only by
the grace of baptism.
Arbitrium voluntatis in primo homine infirmatum nisi
per gratiam baptismi non potest reparari ; quod amissum, nisi
a quo potuit dari, non potest reddi, unde Veritas ipsa dicit :
Si vos filius liberaverit, tune vere liberi eritis (Joann. viii. 36).
Taken from Augustine, De Civ. Dei, lib. xiv. cc. 1 1 , n. 1
(ed. Migne, t. vii. p. 418). It is also the 152nd Sentence
in Prosper. Cf. c. 9.
14. One who is unhappy can be delivered from his misery
only by prevenient divine grace.
Nullus miser de quacumque miseria liberatur, nisi qui
Dei misericordia prsevenitur, sicut dicit Psalmista : Cito anti-
cipent nos misericordice Tuce, Domine (Ps. Ixxviii. 8) ; et illud :
Deus meus, misericordia Ejus prcevenient me (Ps. Iviii. 11).
The 211th Sentence in Prosper.
15. The condition of Adam appointed by God was
changed by sin : the condition of man brought about by sin
is changed in the faithful by the grace of God.
Ab eo, quod formavit Deus, mutatus est Adam, sed in
pejus per iniquitatem suam ; ab eo, quod operata est iniquitas,
mutatur fidelis, sed in melius per gratiam Dei. Ilia ergo
mutatio fuit praevaricatoris primi, hsec secundum psalmistam
Mutatio est dexterce excelsi (Ps. ixxvi. 11).
From Augustine, Enarratio in Ps. Ixviii. Sermo i. n. 2 (ed.
Migne, t. iv. p. 841). It is also the 225th Sentence in Prosper.
16. All that we have is the gift of God. If anyone
fails to recognise in any good, that he has it from God, either
he has it not, or it will be taken from him.
Nemo ex- eo, quod videtur habere, glorietur tanquam non
acceperit, aut ideo se putet accepisse, quia litera extrinsecus
vel ut legeretur apparuit, vel ut audiretur sonuit. Nam
sicut Apostolus dicit : Si per legem justitia, ergo Christus gratis
mortuus est (Gal. ii. 11). Ascendens in altum captivam duarit
captivitatem, dedit dona hominibus (Eph. iv. 8). Inde habet
160 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
quicunque habet ; quisquis auteni se inde habere negat, aut
vere non habet, aut id quod habet aufertur ab eo.
Taken from Augustine, De Spiritu et Litera, c. 29 (Binius,
Hardouin, and the Benedictines give by mistake c. 28),
ed. Migne, t. x. p. 231. It is also the 259th Sentence in
Prosper.
17. That which makes the heathen strong is worldly
desire ; that which makes Christians strong is the love of
God shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost.
Fortitudinem gentilium mundana cupiditas, fortitudinem
autem Christianorum Dei caritas facit, quae diffusa est in
cordibus nostris non per voluntatis arbitrium quod est a
uobis, sed per Spiritum Sanctum qui datus est nobis.
From Augustine, Op. Imp. contra Julianum, lib. i.
c. 83 (ed. Migne, t. x. p. 1104). It is also the 295th
Sentence in Prosper.
18. Unmerited grace goes before the most meritorious
works.
Nullis meritis gratiam praevenientibus, debetur merces
bonis operibus, si fiant ; sed gratia quae non debetur praecedit
ut fiant.
From Augustine, Op. Imp. contra Julianum, lib. i. c. 133
(ed. Migne, t. x. p. 1133). The 297th Sentence in Prosper.
19. Even if human nature had still the integrity in
which it was created, it yet could not preserve itself without
the aid of the Creator. If, however, it is unable without
grace to preserve the safety which it has obtained, much less
can it regain that which was lost.
Natura humana, etiamsi in ilia integritate, in qua est
condita, permaneret, nullo modo seipsam, creatore suo non
adjuvante, servaret ; unde cum sine Dei gratia non possit
custodire quam accepit, quomo sine Dei gratia poterit reparare
quod perdidit ?
From Augustine, Epist. 186, c. 11, n. 37 (formerly
Epist. 106, 11). The 308th Sentence in Prosper.
20. God works much good in man which man does not
work ; but man works no good the performance of which God
does not enable him to do.
Multa Deus facit in homine bona, quae non facit homo ;
SYNODS AT OKANGE AND VALENCE, A.D. 529. 161
nulla vero facit homo bona, quse non Deus praestat ut faciat
homo.
From Augustine's treatise, Contra duos Epistolas Pelagian-
orum, lib. ii. c. 9 (not 8, as the Benedictines say by mistake),
n. 31 (ed. Migne, t. x. p. 586). The 312th Sentence in
Prosper.
21. The law does not justify, and grace does not consist,
as some maintain, in the natural dispositions of man. The
law was there, and did not justify ; nature was there, and did
not justify. But Christ has died to fulfil the law, and to
restore the nature which was ruined through Adam.
Sicut iis, qui volentes in lege justificari et a gratia exci-
derunt, verissime dicit apostolus : Si ex lege justitia est, ergo
Christus gratis mortuus est (Gal. ii. 31); sic iis qui gratiam,
quam commendat et percipit fides Christi, putant esse
naturam, verissime dicitur : Si per naturam justitia est, ergo
Christus gratis mortuus est. Jam hie enim erat lex, et non
justificabat ; jam hie erat et natura, et non justificabat. Ideo
Christus non gratis mortuus est, ut et lex per ilium impleretur
qui dixit: Non mm legem solvere, sed adimplere (Matt. v. 17);
et natura per Adam perdita per ilium repararetur, qui dixit
venisse se, quserere et salvare quod perierat.
Taken from Augustine, De gratia et libero arbitrio,
c. 13 (ed. Migne, t. x. p. 896). The 315th Sentence in
Prosper.
22. That which man has of his own is only falsehood
and sin. What he possesses in truth and righteousness he
has from God.
Nemo habet de suo nisi mendacium et peccatum ; si quid
autem habet homo veritatis atque justitise, ab illo fonte est,
quern debemus sitire in hac eremo, ut ex eo quasi guttis
quibusdam irrorati non deficiamus in via.
From Augustine, Tractat. V. in Joann. n. 1 (Migne, t. iii.
p. 1414). The 323rd Sentence in Prosper. This Capitulum
seems, at first sight, to be identical with the propositions of
Bajus, rejected by Pius v. and Gregory XIIL, No. 25 : Omnia
opera infidelium sunt peccata et philosophorum virtutes sunt
vitia, and No. 27 : liberum arbitrium sine gratiee Dei adju-
toria nonnisi ad peccandum valet. The Capitulum 22 of our
IV. II
162 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
Synod, together with the similar statements of Augustine and
Prosper, has therefore become a real crux of the theologians,
and for centuries not a few have exercised much acuteness in
reconciling the statement of Augustine and of our Synod with
the dogma : that even in fallen man freedom to do good is
not entirely annihilated, and that there is a twofold moral
good, the natural and the supernatural. All these attempts
have been set forth and criticised of late by Johann Ernst
in his treatise on " the works and virtues of the unbelieving
according to S. Augustine (with an Appendix on canon 22
of Arausicanum II.), Freiburg: Herder, 1871."
One of the most admissible hypothesis devised by Eipalda,
approved by Klentgen, Berlage, Schwan, and others, goes
thus : " There are in the present state of the world only two
kinds of human works, the morally bad and the supernatur-
ally good. Naturally good works, which certainly might lie
between these, there are none, as the natural moral powers of
man are never left by God Himself, but in every moral
activity are supported by God's grace. Where, then, the
natural powers (the Suum, as the Synod says) alone of man
are in play, then the product is the opposite of morality,
namely, sin and falsehood." Ernst, however, rejects also this
manner of explanation, and understands the statement of
Augustine and of the Synod in the following manner : " God
has placed before man a supernatural goal, eternal blessedness.
By the sin of Adam man is deprived of this destiny and gift
which had been willed by God, died to it, and therefore
nothing which fallen man can now accomplish in moral
relation can have any real value before God" (p. 225), that
is, it cannot gain for man eternal blessedness. These so-called
naturally good works of the infideles, which are ineffectual for
blessedness, are designated by Augustine and our Synod as
peccata, and we can only ask whether these are merely peccata
materialia (ob defectum ordinis in finem debitum et 6b carentiam
perfectionis debitce), and such as could not be reckoned to the
injideles as involving guilt, or whether Augustine and our
Synod ascribed to them a real character of guilt, and regarded
them as peccata in the full sense of the word. The former
view is taken by Passaglia and Hunter, the latter by Ernst,
SYNODS AT ORANGE AND VALENCE, A.D. 529. 163
on the ground that God makes it possible for everyone to
give a higher character to his moral endeavours, and to
impress upon them the stamp of the higher supernatural
morality, which, however, the infideles do not will. (See
Ernst, I.e. S. 130, 197-201, and 215.)
23. When man does evil, he fulfils his own will;
but if he does good, he fulfils the will of God, yet with
free will.
Suam voluntatem homines faciunt, non Dei, quando id
agunt quod Deo displicet ; quando autem id faciunt quod
volunt ut divinae serviant voluntati, quamvis volentes agant
quod agunt, illius tamen voluntas est, a quo et prseparatur et
jubetur quod volunt.
From Augustine, Traded. XIX. in Joann. n. 1 9 (ed. Migne,
t. iiL p. 1555). The 338th Sentence in Prosper, not the
336th as the Benedictines say, and, after them, Migne.
24. He who has Christ in him and remains in Christ,
advantages only himself thereby, and not Christ.
Ita sunt in vite palmites, ut viti nihil conferant, sed inde
accipiant unde vivant ; sic quippe vitis est in palmitibus, ut
vitale alimentum subministrat iis, non sumet ab iis. Ac per
hoc et manentem in se habere Christum et manere in Christo,
discipulis prodest utrumque, non Christo. Nam prseciso
palmite potest de viva radice alius pullulare ; qui autem
prsecisus est sine radice non potest vivere.
From Augustine, Tractat. LXXXI. in Joann. n. 1 (ed.
Migne, t. iii. p. 1841). The 366th (not 364th) Sentence in
Prosper.
25. The love of God is itself a gift of God.
Prorsus donum Dei est deligere Deum. Ipse ut deligere-
tur dedit, qui non dilectus diligit. Displicentes amati sumus,
ut fieret in nobis unde placeremus. Diffundit enim caritatem
in cordibus nostris Spiritus Paths et Filii, quern cum Patre
amamus et Filio.
From Augustine, Tractat. Oil. in Joann. n. 5 (ed. Migne,
t. iii. p. 1898). The 370th (not 368th) Sentence in
Prosper.
After drawing up these twenty-five chapters or canons,
the Synod composed its own confession on the doctrine of
164 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
grace in a kind of creed, which contains the five following
points in opposition to the Semipelagians : l—
(a) By the sin of Adam, free will is so weakened that
henceforth no one can love God in a suitable manner, believe
1 This epilogue runs : Ac sic secundiun suprascriptas sanctarum Scripturarum
sententias vel antiquorum patrum definitiones hoc Deo propitiante et prsedicare
debemus et credere, quod per peccatum primi hominis ita inclinatum et
attenuatum fuerit liberum arbitrium, ut nullus postea aut diligere Deum sicut
opportuit, aut credere in Deum, aut operari propter Deum quod bonum est
possit, nisi eum gratia misericordiae divinae praevenerit. Unde et Abel justo et
Noe et Abrahae, et Isaac et Jacob et omni antiquorum patrum multitudini illam
praeclaram fidem, quam in ipsorum laude praedicat Apostolus Paulus, non per
bonum natures quod prius in Adam datum fuerat, sed per gratiam Dei credimus
fuisse collatam. Quam gratiam etiam post adventum domini omnibus qui
baptizari desiderant, non in libero arbitrio haberi, sed Christi novimus simul et
credimus largitate conferri, secundum illud quod saepe jam dictum est et quod
saepe jam dictum est et quod praedicat Paulus apostolus : Vobis donatum est pro
Christo non solum ut in eum credatis, sed etiam, ut pro illo patiamini
(Phil. i. 29) ; et illud : Deus qui ccepit in vobis bonum opus, perficiet usque in
diem domini nostri Jesu Christi (Phil. i. 6); et illud: Or alia, salvi facti
estis per fidem, et hoc non ex vobis, dei enim donum est (Eph. ii. 8); et quod
de se ipso ait apostolus : Misericordiam consecutus sum, ut fidelis essem
(1 Cor. vii. 25); non dexit quia eram sed ut essem ; et illud : Quid habes quod
non accepistii. (1 Cor. iv. 7); et illud: Omne datum bonum et omnc donum
perfectum desursum est, descendens a patre luminum (Jac. i. 17); et illud : Nemo
habet quidquam nisi illi datum fuerit desuper (Joann. iii. 27). Innumerabilia
sunt sanctorum scripturarum testimonia quae possunt ad probandam gratiam
proferri sed brevitatis studio praetermissa sunt, quia et revera cui pauca non
sufficiunt plura non proderunt. Hoc etiam secundum fidem Catholicam
credimus, quod accepta per baptismum gratia omnes baptizati, Christo auxiliante
et co-operante, quae ad salutem animse pertinent, possint et debeant, si fideliter
laborare voluerint adimplere. Aliquos vero ad malum divina potestate prae-
destinatos esse non solum non credimus, sed etiam si sunt qui tantum malum
credere velint, cum omni detestatione illis anathema dicimus. Hoc etiam
salubriter profitemur et credimus, quod in omni opere bono non nos incipimus
et postea per Dei misericordiam adjuvamur sed ipse nobis nullis praecedentibus
bonis meritis et fidem et amorem sui prius inspirat, ut et baptismi sacramenta
fideliter requiramus, et post baptismum cum ipsius adjutorio ea quae sibi sunt
placita implere possimus. Unde manifestissime credendum est quod et illius
latronis, quern dominus ad paradisi patriam revocavit, et Cornelii centurionis
ad quern angelus Domini missus est, et Zacchaei qui ipsum dominum suscipere
meruit, ilia tarn admirabilis fides non fuit de natura, sed divinaa largitatis donum.
Et quia definitionem antiquorum patrum nostramque, quae suprascripta est,
non solum religiosis, sed etiam laicis medicamentum esse et desideramus et
cupimus, placuit, ut earn et illustres ac inagnifici viri, qui nobiscum ad prae-
fatam festivitatem convenerunt, propria manu subscriberent. — On this Appendix
to the twenty-five chapters, cf. Norris, Historia Pelag., lib. ii. c. 23, in the
collective edition of the Works of Cardinal Noris, 1729, t. i. p. 524.
SYNODS AT ORANGE AND VALENCE, A.D. 529. 165
in Him, or act for God's sake, unless grace has first come to
him. Thus that glorious faith of Abel, Noah, Abraham,
Isaac, and other ancient Fathers, on account of which the
apostle praises them, was imparted to them, not per bonum
natures, which was, in the beginning, given to Adam, but by
the grace of God. (The direct contrary of this had been
taught by Faustus.)
(6) All, however, are able, after they have received grace
through baptism, with the co-operation of God, to accomplish
what is necessary for the salvation of their soul.
(c) It is in no way our belief that some are predestinated
by God to evil (predestinarian heresy) ; rather, if there are any
who believe a thing so evil, we, with horror, say anathema.
(d) In every good work the beginning does not come
from us ; but God, without any previous merits on our side,
inspires us with faith and love, so that we seek for baptism,
and after baptism can, with His assistance, fulfil His will.
(e) Since this doctrine of the Fathers and of the Synod is
wholesome for laymen also, the distinguished members of the
laity, who have been present at the solemnity, should also
subscribe. In consequence of this invitation, besides the
bishops, also the Prsefectus Prsetorio Liberius and seven other
viri illmtres1 subscribed.
From a letter of Pope Boniface n. to Archbishop Csesarius
of Aries,2 we see that the latter, as president of the Synod of
Orange, after the end of it, sent the abbot and priest Armenius
to Eome, and, among other things, gave him a letter to his
friend Boniface, a cleric of high position there, in order that
the latter might procure from Pope Felix a definite confirma-
tion of the Synod, as desired by Csesarius. In the meantime,
however, Felix had died, and Boniface himself had become
Pope, as the. second of that name. He did not fail to fulfil
the desire of Caesarius at once by means of the letter referred
to. This is dated viii. Kal. Febr. Lampadio et Oreste V. G.
1 Cf. note 9 of Sirmond, and the notes c and cc of Vinius in Mansi, t. viii.
p. 720 sq.
- Mansi, t. viii. p. 735 sqq. ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1109 ; Sirmond, Condi.
Oallise, t. i. p. 223 ; and in the tenth volume of the Benedictine edition of S.
Augustine, ed. Migne, t. x. p. 1790 ; ed. Gaume, t. x. p. 2455.
166 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
Coss., that is, January 25, 530. As, however, Felix iv. did
not die until September 18, 530, it is impossible that the
date of this letter should be genuine, and as Pagi (ad ann.
530, n. 6, and 529, n. 11) supposes, must have been arbitrarily
added a sciolo quopiam. Sirmond (I.e. p. 605) supposed
that we ought to read, Post Consulatum Lampadii, etc., i.e.
A.D. 531; but Pagi thinks, and not unreasonably, that if
Boniface had been elected in September 530 (Pagi, ad ann.
530, n. '4), he could hardly have put off the answer to
Csesarius into the January of the following year, as he says
himself in this letter : " Catholicum non distulimus dare
responsum" (Pagi, ad ann. 529, n. 11). Accordingly, as the
Benedictine editors of the Concil. Gallice opine, instead of
viii. Kal. Febr., we should read Decembres or Novembres of
the year 530.1 Another way was taken by Cardinal Noris
(Hist. Pelag. ii. 23), by the assumption that Felix iv. had
died in September 529; and the Ballerini defended this view
in their1 edition of the works of the cardinal. Noris, Opp.
Omnia, t. i. p. 528, and t. iv. p. 932.
Pope Felix, in this letter, expresses himself quite decisively
against the Semipelagian contention that many a man, even
without the divine grace (prceveniens), could of himself come
to faith in Christ, and then says : Quapropter ajfectu congruo
salutantes suprascriptam confessionem vestram consentaneam
catholicis patrum regulis approbamus. There may be a
question whether he meant by this the whole minutes of
Orange, or only the confession of faith appended to the
twenty-five chapters. In the expression confessio there lies
no necessity for thinking only of the latter ; for, in fact, the
whole forms a kind of confession of faith, and the epilogue,
which has specially this form, is by itself nothing independent,
no conclusive creed, but in its very first words represents
itself as belonging to the twenty-five chapters. It is quite
true that the Pope, in his answer, chiefly makes reference to
this epilogue, and weaves into his own letters such Bible
passages as are also found in the epilogue (1 Cor. vii. 25 and
Phil. i. 29); but immediately afterwards he adduces the
words of Christ in S. John xv. 5, and indeed as quoted by
1 Cf. Jaffe, Regesta Pvntif, 1851, p. 72.
SYNODS AT ORANGE AND VALENCE, A.D. 529. 167
the Fathers at Orange, although this is found not in the
epilogue, but in chapter 7. So also he repeats the passages,
Prov. viii. 35, Ps. Iviii. 11, which occur in chapters 4
and 14.
It is customary to assign the Synod of Valence to the
same year (529) as that of Orange, or to the following year
(530). The Acts of this Synod are lost, and we have no
information respecting it but that which is contained in the
life of S. Caesarius, by his disciple, the deacon Cyprian. In
this it is said : " Many stood up against the doctrine of grace
taught by Caesarius, and by a false apprehension of it there
arose in Gaul an evil suspicion against the doctrine of the
man of God. On this account the bishops beyond the Isere,
in Valentia (Valence), came together. On account of sick-
ness, Caesarius was unable himself to be present, although he
wished to be ; but he sent some bishops, priests, and deacons
as deputies, and among them, in particular, the celebrated
Bishop Cyprian of Toulon. The latter showed, at the Synod,
from passages of the Bible and of the holy Fathers, that no
man could make progress in divine things by himself alone,
and without gratia prceveniens. For the perusal of the Synod,
the man of God (Caesarius afterwards) furnished the complete
array of proofs from the apostolic tradition. Pope Boniface,
after he had learnt of the controversy, rejected the opinions
of the opponents, and confirmed, by apostolic authority, the
judgment (prosecutio) l of Csesarius." 2
Noris (Hist. Pelag. ii. 23), Pagi (ad ann. 529, n. 8 sqq.),
and all the other writers represent the matter as though the
Synod of Orange had not at once attained to full recognition
in Gaul, and that Caesarius had, for that reason, summoned a
new and larger Synod at Valence. But, in the first place,
the original documents say not a word of Caesarius having
summoned the Synod ; on the contrary, he appears rather to
have been invited to it ; and this must be right, for Valentia
1 On the expression prosecutio-=sententia, cf. Du Cange, Qlossar. s.v.
2 The narrative of the deacon Cyprian is in Mansi, t. viii. p. 723 ; Hardouin,
t. ii. p. 1103. Still better (avoiding the misprint solidtans for solits), in the
tenth volume of the Benedictine edition of 8. Augustine, ed. Gaume, p. 2458,
ed. Migne, p. 1792 ; and in Noris, Hist. Pelag. lib. ii. c. 23, p. 528, t. i. Opp.
Omnium.
168 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
belonged, not to the ecclesiastical province of Aries, but to
that of Vienne, as we saw above (sec. 211) from the decisions
of Popes Leo I. and Hilary, who assigned the suffragan
bishoprics of Valence, Tarantaise, Geneva, and Grenoble to
the metropolitan see of Vienne. Valence, however, lies on
the boundary between the country on this side and on the
other side of the Isere, and when the deacon Cyprian, who
lived with Caesarius of Aries, says that the bishops ultra
Isaram had come to Valence, and also Caesarius had sent
deputies thither, the result comes out. The bishops of Gallia
Viennensis and Lugdunensis, living on the other side, that
is, on the north of the Isere, on account of the prevailing
doctrinal controversies, determined to unite in a great Synod
with the bishops on the south of the Isere, and for this
purpose selected Valence, which was peculiarly suitable for
such a common assembly. Ecclesiastically it belonged to the
north of the Isere, the province of Vienne, but in geographical
position to the south of the Isere, lying near its junction with,
the Rhone.
In the second place, we find in our original documents
not the slightest justification of the assumption that the
Synod of Valence was held after that of Orange. The deacon
Cyprian does not indicate the latter (at least as Noris, Pagi,
and the rest understood him) ; and it is a mere assumption
on their part when they place the Synod of Valence after
that of Orange. The reverse seems to me to be the truth,
and I believe it possible to verify this by reference to the
original documents. They relate that, when the doctrine of
Ceesarius came into suspicion, the bishops assembled at
Valence; but his doctrine was in suspicion with the Semi-
pelagians for a considerable time before the Synod of Orange.
The first thing that happened after the origin of the suspicion
was the assembly at Valence. After this was ended, Caesarius
furnished the proof for the true doctrine from tradition, and
Pope Boniface confirmed this. When the Synod of Orange,
under the presidency of Caesarius, verified the true doctrine
from the writings of Augustine, and Pope Boniface confirmed
the decrees of Orange, I suppose that the biographer Cyprian
(our authority) had understood by the proof which Csesarius
SECOND SYNOD AT VAISON, A.D. 529. 169
furnished nothing else but the decrees of the Synod of
Orange, and that this accordingly took place later than that
of Valence. — -After this exposition of our views, we must
regard the attempt of Pagi (ad ann. 529, n. 10) to assign
the Synod of Valence to the year 530 as radically a mistake.
SEC. 243. Second Synod at Vaison, A.D. 529.1
The Synod at Carpentras had ordained that, on Novem-
ber 6 of next year, a new assembly should take place at
Vaison (in vico Vasensi) (see sec. 239). It was attended by
eleven or twelve bishops, and on the Nones of the month of
November, A.D. 529, that is, on November 5, it was opened
and closed.2 As Vaison is an episcopal city in the province
of Aries, Archbishop Csesarius took the presidency, and this
four months after the holding of the celebrated second Synod
of Orange. The assembly at Vaison, as is said in the preface
to. the minutes, had no other aim than to keep alive love and
harmony among the bishops, and to recall back to remem-
brance the ancient ordinances of the Church. There was no
contested matter to be decided. After the reading of the
ancient canons, they were contented to draw up five new
ones, from which they expected a beneficent effect on the life
of the Church. They are, moreover, of different meaning.
The first was very important for the future education of the
clergy, the second for the improvement and the universal
introduction of preaching, the fourth for the maintenance of
a close union with Rome. The two others refer to special
points in worship : —
1. All priests in the parishes must, as is already the
very wholesome custom in all Italy, receive the younger
unmarried lectors into their house, and instruct them in the
1 If it is called by some, e.g. Binius, the third Synod of Vaison, this is done
with reference to Baronius's mistaken notion of a Concilium Vasense, A.D. 325
(ad ann. 325, n. 177).
- Remi Ceillier (t. xvi. p. 591) and Richard (Analysis Condliorum, t. i. p.
515) place it, by mistake, on the 7th of November. The president of the Synod
says quite expressly in his subscription : Die Nonas Novbr. Dedo juniore 0. V.
Consule. The Nones of some months (0 M M J) fall certainly on the 7th, but
those of November on the 5th.
170 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
singing of psalms (psalmos parare),1 in the Church lessons,
and in the law of the Lord, so that they may have able
successors. If, however, such a lector shall afterwards desire
to marry, the permission must not be refused him.
2. Not only in the cities, but also in all rural churches,
the priests may preach. If the priest is hindered through
sickness, a deacon should read a homily by a Father of the
Church.
3. As in Eome, in the East, and in Italy, so also in our
churches the Kyrie Eleison must be frequently sung, for
the awaking of penitence, as well at matins as at Mass
and vespers, Moreover, at all Masses, as well at early
Masses2 as at those during Lent and the Masses for
the dead, the Tersanctus should be said, as in the public
Masses.
4. The name of the Pope of the period should be read
aloud in the churches (in the diptychs, or in the corresponding
part of the liturgy).
5. As at Rome, and in the East, and in all Africa and
Italy, on account of the heretics who deny the eternity of
the Son of God (Arians), in all the closing forms after the
Gloria there is added, Sicut erat in principio ; so must it be
also in all our churches.3
Gratian, in his Decret. c. 15, C. xiii. q. 2, brings forward
another canon belonging to the Concilium Varense or Vasense,
which forbids surplus fees for funerals. This, however,
certainly belongs to the Concilium Namnetense in the ninth
century, and will hereafter meet us as the 6th canon of that
Synod.4
1 Parare in this sense is not found in Du Cange, Glossar. Yet he suggests
(t. v. pp. 164 and 166) that parare =metare.
2 We have already seen (sees. 219 and 222) that Missa matutina and vcspertina
are often taken as identical with matins and vespers. In the canon before us,
on the contrary, the Missa matutina is to be understood as a real Mass in the
present meaning of the words, and the Missa matutinalis early Mass, in dis-
tinction from the principal service, or the solemn Mass, Missa publica. Cf. Du
Cange, Glossar. s.v. Mixsa matutinalis publica and quadragesimalis, t. iv. pp.
821, 823, and 824.
3 Mansi, t. viii. p. 725 sqq. ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1105 sq. ; Sirmond, Condi.
Galliae, t. i. p. 225.
4 Printed in Hardouin, t. vi. pt. i. p. 458.
SYNODS AT ROME, LARISSA, ETC., A.D. 531. 171
SEC. 244. Synods at Rome, Larissa, and Constantinople,
A.D. 531.
Pope Boniface n., to whom we have already frequently
referred, had come into possession of the Eoman see not
without violent contests. After the death of his predecessor,
Felix rv., two parties stood over against each other. The
one chose Dioscurus, and consecrated him in the Basilica of
Constantine (Lateran Church) ; the other elevated Boniface
to the throne, and consecrated him in the Basilica Julii.1
Occasion for this schism was given by the endeavour of the
East Gothic Arian King Athalaric, in understanding with a
portion of the clergy, to get possession of the Eoman see in a
manner as arbitrary as his grandfather Theoderic the Great
had done at the elevation of the previous Pope, Felix rv.
Probably another part of the Eoman clergy opposed him in
this, and thus gave occasion for the schism. Whether
Boniface or Dioscurus was protected by the King, cannot any
longer be decided. I suppose, however, the former, since the
name of his father, Sigisbold or Sigisvult,2 shows that he
belonged to the Gothic nation, and because the King-, after
the death of the anti-Pope, made no attempt to put another
in his place. Pagi (ad ann. 530, n. 5) shows that Felix rv.
died September 18, 530, and that Boniface was elected only
three days later. We have already seen that others prefer
529. The schism lasted twenty-nine days; that is, until the
death of Dioscurus, on October 14, put an end to it. The
latter had by simony and such like means made himself a
party ; 3 for this reason the Eoman Senate made a decree,
that for the future every papal election should be altogether
invalid, if the elect, either in his own person or by others,
had made promises to anyone.4
1 Pope Julius had erected two basilicas, the one near the Forum, the other
on the Flaminian Way. Cf. Baronius, ad ann. 352, n. 4.
2 This name we learn from Anastasius, or the Liber Pontificalis, to which
we are indebted for this intelligence. Printed in Mansi, t. viii. p. 729. Cf.
Baronius, ad ann. 529, n. 2.
3 This is clear also from a later letter of the Emperor Justinian to Pope
John ; cf. Mansi, t. viii. p. 731, Nota d.
4 Cassiodor. Variar. lib. 9, ep. 15 ; also in Baronius, ad ann, 529, n. 4.
172 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
From this time Boniface was no longer annoyed by any
opponent ; and as the Gothic King made no endeavour to set
up any other in opposition to him, but, on the contrary, spoke
of him with the most respectful expressions,1 and did not
prevent him from treating his former opponents with harsh-
ness, this is a strong proof of our supposition that Boniface
had, at the beginning, been set up by the King. The ponti-
fical book does not conceal that this Pope now went to work
very violently, and zelo et dolo ductus, cum grandi amaritudine
brought back the clergy to obedience. An edict, in which he
pronounced anathema on his former opponent Dioscurus, was
placed by him in the archives of the church, and he
demanded of the whole assembled clergy the subscription of
this document. According to the words of the pontifical
book, which are by no means clear, none of the bishops gave
their signature ; in the biography of Pope Agapetus, on the
contrary, the same pontifical book says that Boniface, by
violence and uncanonically, extorted the anathema on Dios-
curus from the bishops and priests, but that Agapetus, at his
accession to office (A.D. 535), had this document burnt publicly
in the church.2
In the short period of the reign of Pope Boniface, there
fell three Koman and several other Synods. The first Eoman
Synod he got together in the Basilica of S. Peter with the
aim of preventing, at future papal elections, the renewal of
troublesome occurrences, such as had happened at his own,
perhaps also in order to take the appointment to the Eoman
see out of the hands of the heretical Gothic Kings. He pre-
sented here a constitutum, which granted him the right to
nominate his own successor ; and after the sacerdotes had
subscribed it, and sworn to observe it, he declared the deacon
Vigilius his successor, at the grave of S. Peter. This was
in opposition to the ancient laws of the Church, and met
with much opposition, undoubtedly also from the Gothic
King. The Pope himself, moreover, soon regretted his action,
and therefore he assembled a second Eoman Synod, at which
the sacerdotes, out of respect for the Holy See, quashed
(cassaverunt, not censuerunt) what had been done, and Boni-
1 Of. Karon ius, I.e. 2 In Baronius, ad ann. 531, n. 3.
SYNODS AT ROME, LARISSA, ETC., A.D. 531. 173
face, in presence of the Sacerdotes (the bishops of the ecclesice
suburbicarice, see vol. i p. 397), probably because he had
opposed the pretensions of the East Gothic King in regard to
the papal election.1 Both Synods undoubtedly belong to the
year 531.
About the same time two Greek Synods were held at
Larissa and Constantinople. After the death of the Metro-
politan Proclus of Larissa in Thessaly, Stephen, hitherto a
layman and a warrior, had been elected in his place by the
people and clergy, and all whose assent was necessary (so he
says himself). In accordance with ancient custom, there
assembled at Larissa, for his ordination, a provincial Synod, at
which the well-to-do burgesses of the city were also present,
and all the clergy. But the priest Antonius, and the bishops
Demetrius of the Island of Sciathus and Probian of Demetrias,
although they had themselves subscribed the document for
the ordination of Stephen, and Probian had even delivered a
laudatory speech about him, immediately betook themselves
to Constantinople, and made complaints before the Patriarch
Epiphanius, that the ordination of Stephen was uncanonical,
and that another bishop must be appointed.
The Patriarch hereupon sent an edict to Larissa, in
which he ordered Stephen to lay down his office, because he
had been consecrated in opposition to the canons. He offered
no proof of this, nor did he invite Stephen to offer a canonical
defence. On the contrary, he interdicted the bishops of
Thessaly and the clergy of Larissa from Church communion
with Stephen, and forbade his receiving sustentation from the
property of the Church. He treated him accordingly as a
person already convicted, before having first instituted an
inquiry. For the publication of this sentence he com-
missioned a certain Andrew (a cleric of Constantinople), who
met Stephen, not at Larissa, but in Thessalonica, whither he
had travelled, and where he read to him the letter of the
Patriarch of Constantinople. Stephen immediately declared
that he appealed to the Pope, to whom alone, if his election
was to be objected to, the trial of the case belonged. But he
1 Our authority for these two Synods is the Liber Pontificates, in Mansi, t.
viii. pp. 729 and 737 ; Baronius, ad ann. 531, n. 1 and 2.
174 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
was against his will brought to Constantinople, and would
there have been kept in chains, if some persons had not
become responsible for him and his appearance at the
residence. In this necessity he turned, by writing, to the
Pope, and besought him in a very copious letter, full of
the recognition of the Roman primacy, for support and
deliverance.1
In a second letter to the Pope, he informs him that after
his arrival in Constantinople, the Patriarch had immediately
held a o-woSo? wSypovo-a. Before this Stephen said he had
declared his appeal to Rome, with the addition that the
custom which had hitherto prevailed in the province of
Thessaly should not be overthrown ; nor must the con-
sideration of the apostolic see, imparted by Christ and the
holy canon, and preserved per antiquam cpnsuetudinem, be
violated. The Patriarch, he said, had paid no attention to
this, and his principal aim had been to set himself forth as
master and judge of the Churches of Thessaly. The Synod
of Constantinople had pronounced his deposition without
allowing him a complete defence, and his appeal to Rome
had only more increased the hatred against him. They had
reproached him with having attempted to diminish the rights
of the holy Church of the chief city. At the reading of the
synodal sentence, however, he had declared his appeal, but
was immediately conducted back to prison, and now earnestly
prayed for help.2
The Patriarch did all in his power to prevent the com-
plaints of Stephen from coming to Rome ; but Bishop
Theodosius of Echinus, a suffragan of Larissa, succeeded in
getting to Italy, and conveyed the complaints of Stephen
and of other bishops, with other documents bearing upon the
subject. Hereupon Boniface held his third Roman Synod,
December 7, 531, in consistorio B. Andrece apostoli. This was
a building adjoining — a kind of secretarium — to S. Peter's
Church.3 Under the presidency of the Pope, there were
1 Mansi, t. viii. p. 741 sq. ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1111 sq.
2 Mansi, t. viii. p. 745 sq. ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1115 sq.
3 Cf. Du Cange, s.v. Consistorium, and the notes of Lucas Holstenius on our
Synod, in Mansi, t. viii. p. 774.
SYNODS AT ROME, LARISSA, ETC., A.D. 531. 175
present the Bishops Sabinus of Canusium, Abundantius of
Demetrias, Carosus of Centumcellse, and Felix of Numentum,
with many priests and deacons. The Archdeacon Tribunus
announced that Bishop Theodosius of Echinus was at the
door, and prayed to be admitted. When this was granted,
Theodosius handed in the documents of his Metropolitan
Stephen of Larissa, which he had brought with him. After,
at the command of the Pope, the first of these, directed to
the Holy See, had been read, Abundantius rose, and remarked
that twice in this document Probian was mentioned as bishop
of Demetrias ; while, in truth, he had obtained this see only
by violence and deceit, and that Abundantius himself was its
rightful possessor. The Pope ordered that both the letter of
Stephen and the statement of Abundantius should be received
into the minutes ; and then permitted the reading of the
second letter, also addressed to him by Stephen. We have
already known this, and after it had been embodied in the
Acts, the first session closed, as it was towards evening.
The second session took place on the 9th of December.
Theodosius of Echinus presented a third letter, which had
emanated from three of Stephen's suffragan bishops, and in
which they gave the Pope an account of all that had taken
place, and earnestly besought his help. These were the
Bishops Elpidius of Thebae Phthioticse, Timothy of Diocaesarea,
and Stephen of Lamia. Thereupon Theodosius of Echinus
remarked that the Bishop of Home had by right a claim
to the primacy over all Churches in the whole world, but
he had specially vindicated the Churches of Illyria for his
government,1 as was proved by a series of ancient documents
which he had brought with him. The Pope ordered them to
be read, and an examination to be made as to whether they
agreed with those contained in the Eoman archives, and were
genuine. There were twenty-six letters, almost all from
Popes — from Damasus, Siricius, Innocent I., Boniface I.,
Ccelestine I., Xystus III., and Leo the Great ; besides some
letters from the Emperors Honorius, Theodosius, Valentiniaii
1 On the relation of Illyria to Rome, cf. Le Quien, Oriens Christmnits, t. ii.
p. 5 sqq. ; De dioeces Rlyr. see. vi. sqq.; and Wiltseh, Kirchl. Geographic u.
Statistik, Bd. i. S. 72 sqq.
176 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
ra., and Marcian, as well as from Archbishop Anatolius of
Constantinople, all from the middle of the fourth to the
middle of the fifth century. All these letters are found in
the minutes of the Synod ; 1 but here they end, and all the
rest is so completely lost, that we do not know at all what
the Synod finally decreed,
SEC. 245. The Religious Conference at Constantinople, A.D. 533,
and the alleged Roman Synod under Pope John II.
In the short account given above of the Monophysite
heresy (sec. 208) we noticed a religious conference, which the
Emperor Justinian held in the year 533 at Constantinople,
between the orthodox and the Severians. The monk Severus,
one of the leading opponents of the Council of Chalcedon,
had, in the year 513, under the Emperor Anastasius, who
was favourable to the Monophysites, been raised to the
patriarchal see of Antioch. Although again deposed, after a
few years, under the Emperor Justin I. he yet remained the
most important man among the Monophysites, and their most
copious writer, and a special division among them received
from him the name of Severians. In order to bring about, if
possible, a union of this party with the Church, the Emperor
Justinian called together, some years after his ascension of
the throne, six peculiarly able bishops of the orthodox —
Hypatius of Ephesus, John of Vesina, Stephen of Seleucia,
Anthimus of Trapezunt, Innocent of Maronia in Thrace, and
Demetrius of Philippopolis ; and, on the other side, seven
leaders of the Severians — Sergius of Cyrus, Thomas of
Germanicia, Philoxenus of Dulichium, Peter of Theodosiopolis,
John of Constantina, and Nonnus of Ceresina, — and requested
them to take counsel together, in peace and gentleness, on the
points of difference in their faith. On account of sickness,
Theodosius of Philippopolis was unable to appear.
As place of assembly the Emperor fixed a hall of the
palace Heptatonchon Triclinion at Constantinople ; and
besides the bishops named there were also a good many
priests and deputies of monks present. In order that he
1 Mansi, t. viii. pp. 749-772 ; Hardouin, t. ii. pp. 1118-1140.
RELIGIOUS CONFERENCE AT CONSTANTINOPLE, A.D. 533. 177
might not interrupt, the Emperor decided not to be personally
present, but he appointed the high official of State, Strategius,
to take his place.
We owe our knowledge of this conference to the fairly
complete account which one of the orthodox members,
Innocent of Maronia, gave to a friend, and which has come
down to us in a Latin translation, which in many parts is
faulty and defective.1 The conference was opened on the
first day by Strategius with an address to the Orientals (so
the Monophysites were called), in which he invited them to
bring forward, without contentiousness, their objections to the
doctrine of the Synod of Chalcedon. The Orientals replied
that they had transmitted their confession of faith to the
Emperor in writing. As the orthodox had read this already,
they now wanted, by some questions, to give their opponents
an opportunity of more fully explaining themselves. Bishop
Hypatius was their mouthpiece in this. To the question :
" What do you hold concerning Eutyches ? " the Orientals
replied decisively : " He is a heretic, even a prince of heresy."
On the other hand, they wanted to declare Dioscurus and the
Eobber-Synod as orthodox. In this Hypatius discerned a
contradiction. The debate which arose over this question, of
which our document contains but little, took up the whole
session.
From the transactions of the second day, we see that the
Orientals, at the close of the first, had made the admission,
that it was not right that Dioscurus and his general Synod
(the Robber-Synod) should have received Eutyches back into
Church communion, and that, therefore, another general
Synod, that of Chalcedon, had been obliged to correct that
error. This the Orientals admitted also on the second day ;
but they reproached the Synod of Chalcedon for this innova-
tion, that instead of ex dudbus naturis, as Cyril and the old
Fathers taught, they had put in dudbus naturis, and had
assumed the existence of two natures even after the union (of
the Godhead and manhood). That, they said, was both new
1 Printed in Mansi, t. viii. p. 817 sqq. ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1159 sqq. ;
Baronius, ad ann. 532, n. 31 sqq. Cf. Walch, Ketzerhist. Bd. vii. S. 134 sqq.
and 141 sq.
IV. 12
178 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
and erroneous. In proof of this they appealed to the writings
of Cyril, Athanasius, etc., and of Dionysius the Areopagite,1
which had all taught only one nature after the union.
The orthodox contended, on the contrary, that these
writings had been falsified by the Apollinarists, just as the
letter of Athanasius to Epictetus had been by the Nestorians.
The alleged writings of Dionysius the Areopagite, in particular,
were certainly not genuine, as none of the ancients referred to
them, although Cyril and Athanasius and the Nicene Council
could easily have used them. The Orientals replied, that
even if all these writings were spurious, yet the twelve anathe-
matisms of Cyril were genuine, and in these only one nature
was taught. The Council of Chalcedon, however, had not
received the writing of Cyril in which these anathematisms
were contained, and so had altered the doctrine.2 Hypatius
replied : " The Synod of Chalcedon accepted on their side all
the explanations of the faith approved at Ephesus in their
entirety, and therefore it cannot be maintained that they
had made an exception with the one in question, and had re-
jected it. But this one they had not quite expressly adduced,
because therein Cyril speaks of two hypostases (in the sense
of natures) in Christ, and they, in opposition to the Nestorians,
asserted only one hypostasis in Christ (in the sense of person}.
In order to avoid misunderstanding, the Synod of Chalcedon
had not expressly approved that writing of Cyril's."
The Orientals remarked that Cyril by the two hypostases
had understood nothing else but the two natures, and
Hypatius carried this correct view further out. But, in
order to show the difference between "from two natures" and
" in two natures," the Orientals contended that only when we
say " from two natures " is the one nature of the incarnate
Logos maintained, whilst by " in two natures " a duality of
persons is indicated. The orthodox did not agree to this, but
maintained that the Synod of Chalcedon had allowed both
modes of speech ; and even Flavian of Constantinople, who
first condemned Eutyches, had spoken of " one incarnate
1 This is the earliest mention of the writings of the pseudo-Dionysius the
Areopagite.
2 Cf. vol. iii. sees. 134, 189, 193.
RELIGIOUS CONFERENCE AT CONSTANTINOPLE, A.D. 533. 179
nature of the divine Word." In proof, they read the con-
fession of faith of this bishop (see vol. iii. sec, 174), and
Hypatius thereupon proceeded as follows : " Although
Flavian used the expression ' from two natures,' Dioscurus,
nevertheless, so ill-treated him (at the Kobber-Synod), that
the Synod of Chalcedon saw from that, that not the confes-
sion of two natures would satisfy the Eutychians, but only
the confusa et commixta et imaginaria vel Manichceica
unius naturae confessio. Therefore, for more exact definition,
they had taught ' one person and one substance in two
natures.' "
The Orientals wanted to bring forward letters of Cyril in
which he had expressly rejected the doctrine of two natures
after the union ; but Hypatius replied that, on the orthodox
side only those letters of Cyril were recognised which were
approved by Synods, the others were neither commended nor
rejected ; and from the approved letters of Cyril the proof
was now brought forward, that he had taught an inconfusa et
indivisa duarum naturarum unitas. As the opponents laid
great weight upon other letters of Cyril, Hypatius proved
that in these, as in many other patristic passages, and also in
the Bible, the duality of naturs was taught. The Orientals
then went on to two new points, that through the recognition
of the Council of Chalcedon many of the faithful had been
vexed, and that Ibas and Theodoret had been, at Chalcedon,
improperly restored to communion, and replaced in their
offices. With the debate on this point the second session
closed.
The third session was held by the Emperor himself in the
presence of the Senate, after taking counsel on the subject
with the Patriarch Epiphanius of Constantinople. When the
session began, the patriarch withdrew, but the Emperor held
a conference with both sides, which our document highly
commends, but does not report. The Orientals had reflected
on their opponents with the Emperor, as being unwilling to
acknowledge that our Lord, who suffered in the flesh, was
one of the Trinity, and that the miracles and the suffering of
Christ belonged to one and the same person. On this point
the Emperor questioned the patriarch who had now returned,
180 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
and Hypatius, and in their answer they clearly explained the
true doctrine of the Church, namely, that the miracles and the
sufferings certainly belonged to one person but to different
natures, and that the suffering Christ in His Godhead was
one of the Trinity, but in His manhood one of us. On a
fourth day the Emperor again convoked the orthodox bishops
in the presence of the Senate, and explained that of the
Orientals only Bishop Philoxenus had attained to a better
conviction through the three conferences, and had returned to
the Church. Our informant adds that the Emperor exercised
great patience with the other Monophysite bishops, and
waited long for their conversion, but none of them returned to
the Church. On the other hand, many of the clergy and
monks who had attended the proceedings now received the
right faith.
About the same time, on March 15, 533, the Emperor
Justinian promulgated a law, in which he pointed out to his
subjects the true faith in the sense of the Council of Chalcedon,
and particularly laid stress upon the confession that the Lord
who suffered on the cross was one of the Trinity.1 At the
same time it appeared to him necessary to obtain for this
expression, then so much discussed, the papal approbation as
well, particularly as the distinguished Akoimetse monks
rejected it, and even Pope Hormisdas, a short time before, had
pronounced it useless and even dangerous (see vol. iii. sec.
208). Hormisdas did so, not because he found this formula
erroneous in itself, but because the Monophysites then tried to
shelter themselves behind it. Now, however, the state of
the case was different. The formula was now opposed only
by the Nestorians, and therefore it was in the interest of
orthodoxy that Justinian requested its confirmation from the
Pope, and John II. granted this with pleasure.2 Baronius and
others supposed that the Pope, with a view to this approval,
summoned a Koman Synod, A.D. 534 ; but there is no mention
1 The law is found in Greek and in Latin, in lib. 6, C. De Summa Trinitate ;
in Latin only in Baronius, ad ann. 533, n. 7.
2 The Emperor's letter to the Pope, John's answer, and a further letter from
him on this matter, are in Mansi, t. viii. p. 795 sqq. ; Hardouiu, t. ii. p.
1146 sqq.
SYNOD AT MARSEILLES, A.D. 533. 181
of this in the original documents, and even in the letter of
the Pope to the Senate, to which they refer, there is no word
of a Synod.1
SEC. 246. Synod at Marseilles on account of Bishop
Contumeliosus, A.D. 533.
The Acts of a Synod at Marseilles in the year 533 were
discovered some decades back by Dr. Knust in the same codex
of the Darmstadt Library in which he also found the minutes
of a Synod nearly a hundred and fifty years earlier at Nimes
(see vol. iii. sec. 110). Occasion for the Synod at Marseilles
was given by several offences of Bishop Contumeliosus of Ptiez,
of whom also three letters of John n. and one of Agapetus I.
treat. We shall see below in what relation these four papal
letters stand to our Synod. The minutes of the Synod run as
follows : —
Constitutio Cccsarii Papce in Massiliensi urbe habita
episcoporum xvi.
Cum ad civitatem Massiliehsem, propter requirenda et
discutienda ea qua? de fratre nostro Contumelioso episcopo
fuerant divulgata sacerdotes Domini convenissent, residentibus
sanctis episcopis, cum grandi diligentia discussis omnibus
secundum quod gesta, qua; nobis praesentibus facta sunt,
continent multa turpia et inhonesta, supradictus Contumeliosus,
convictus ore proprio, se confessus est perpetrasse ; ita ut non
solum revincere testes non potuerit, sed etiam publice, in
conventu episcoporum et laicorum qui interfuerant in terrani
se projiciens clamaverit, se graviter in Deum et in ordine
pontificali pecasse. Pro qua re, propter disciplinani catholicae
religionis, utile ac salubre omnibus visum est, ut supradictus
Contumeliosus in Casensi monasterio, ad agendam pcen-
tentiam vel ad expianda ea quse commiserat mitteretur ; quam
rem studio pcenitendi et ipse libenter amplexus est. Et quia
multas domus ecclesiae Regensis absque ratione contra
1 Of. Baronius ad ann. 534, n. 13 sqq. ; Noris, I>iss in historiam controversix
de uno ex Trinitate passo, Opp. Omnia, t. iii. p. 862 ; Mansi, t. viii. p. 816 ;
Walch, Ketzerhist. Bd. vii. S. 328, Anm. 3, and S. 314 ff.
182 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
canonum statuta sine concilio sanctorum antistitum perpetuo
jure distraxit, hoc sanctis episcopis visum est, ut quidquid
supradictne ecclesise constiterit injuste ab ipso alienatum,
facta ratione ad vicem de ejus substantia compensetur.
Csesarius peccator constitutionem nostram religi et sub-
scripsi Not. sub die viii. Kal. Junias post consulatum
tertium Lampadi et Orestis. Cyprianus (bishop of Toulon)
peccator consensi et subscripsi. Prsetextatus (bishop of Apt)
peccator consensi et subscripsi. Eucherius (bishop of
Avignon) peccator consensi et subscripsi. Prosper (bishop of
Vence) peccator consensi et subscripsi. Herculius (bishop of
S. Paul de trois chateaux) peccator consensi et subscripsi.
Eusticus (perhaps bishop of Aire) peccator consensi et sub-
scripsi. Pontadius peccator consensi et subscripsi. Maximus
(bishop of Aix) peccator consensi et subscripsi. Porcianus
(bishop of Digne), peccator consensi et subscripsi. Item,
Eucherius peccator consensi et subscripsi. Aletius (bishop of
Vaison) peccator consensi et subscripsi. Vindemialis (bishop
of Orange) peccator consensi et subscripsi. Eodanius peccator
consensi et subscripsi. Auxanius peccator consensi et sub-
scripsi. Valentius Abba, directus a domno meo Fylagrio
(bishop of Cavaillon) conseusi et subscripsi.1
The president of this Synod was Archbishop Csesarius of
Aries, and from his subscription it appears that the assembly
took place on the 25th of May 533.2 Besides him there
were fourteen bishops, and an abbot as the representative of
his bishop, present. As far as the sees of the bishops can
still be ascertained they are given. We learn from the
minutes, (a) that the evil reports which were in circulation
about Contumeliosus had occasioned the convoking of the
Synod ; and (b) that his offences were turpia (sins of the flesh),
which comes out much more clearly in the appendix to the
letter of the Pope to Caesarius. (c) Moreover, he had seized
Church property, (d) At the beginning of the Synod he was not
prepared to confess, but he was convicted by witnesses, and
1 Copied from the Freiburg Zeitsrhrift fur Thcol. Jahrg. 1844, Bd. xi.
S. 471.
2 Not on May 21, as is given by mistake in the Freiburg, Zcitschrift, S. 470.
SYNOD AT MARSEILLES, A.D. 533. 183
now declared himself to be a great sinner (as it appears, only
in general expressions). («) The Synod condemned him to do
penance in a monastery, for which he showed himself quite
willing and ready. What was to happen to him after his
penance was accomplished is not said. (/) For the damage
which Contumeliosus had done to Church property, he was
required to make return from his own property.
Let us now consider the three short letters of Pope
John ii. One is addressed to Archbishop Caesarius of Aries,
the second to the Gallic bishops generally, the third to the
priests and deacons of Eiez.1 In two of these the date is given,
April 7, 534; in the third, to Csesarius, it is lacking. As,
however, all the three letters have the same contents, and it
is in itself probable that the Pope promulgated on one and
the same day his decision to all the three parties concerned
(the metropolitan, the comprovincials, and the clergy of
Eiez), we may assume that all the three letters were written
at the same time, after the Synod of Marseilles, on April 7,
534. In all three it is said that Caesarius and the other
bishops had already given the Pope information respecting
Contumeliosus. By this is undoubtedly meant the com-
munication of the decree of their Synod. In all three letters
the Pope orders, in similar terms, that the sinful bishop (a)
should be banished to a monastery, (b) that he should be
deposed. At the same time, (c) he names for the present
supervision of the diocese of Eiez a visitor, whose tenure
of office should continue until the new occupancy of the see.
Accordingly, the Pope goes further than the Synod had done.
For if the Synod gave only one decision (with regard to
the monastery), he adds two others. That these two points
going beyond the Synod of Marseilles are contained also in
the undated letter to Caesarius, is a proof that we must not
assume (as is done in the Freiburg Zeitschrift,l.c. S. 470), that
this letter was written before our Synod, and had even
occasioned its being convoked. As we know from other
sources,2 all the bishops of the province were not agreed that
Contumeliosus should be deposed for ever ; they rather wished
1 Mansi, t. viii. p. 807 sqq. ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1153 sqq.
2 From the address of Csesarius to his comprovincial bishops. See below.
184 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
that, after the penance had been done, he might be restored
to his office. In reference to this, then, Caesarius, who for
himself, and rightly, was in favour of the severer view,
allowed the decree of the Synod to be so drawn up that only
the removal into a monastery was there ordered, whilst it was
quite silent as to the deposition. Otherwise, perhaps, he would
have attained to unanimity. That, however, which was want-
ing in the synodal decree the Pope had now to complete,
and he did so. He even added an appendix to his letter
to Caesarius, in which he collected a number of older canons,
in order to show that in these deposition had been pronounced
on unchaste clerics.
After Caesarius received this letter, he added himself a
large series of canons of similar content, the 9th of Nicaea,
and several of Gallican Synods, and sent the letter of the
Pope, together with these two appendices, and an address to
his comprovincials,1 in order to convince those who had
spoken in favour of a milder treatment of Contumeliosus,
that on an adulterous bishop deposition must necessarily be
inflicted, and that one who had done penance could not
possibly be restored to his spiritual office. From a letter of
the next Pope Agapetus I. to Caesarius, dated July 18,
535, we learn that deposition was now pronounced upon
Contumeliosus, but that he appealed from this sentence of
the provincial Synod to the Pope, maintained his innocence,
and found a protection in the Pope. The latter ordered that
a new tribunal delegated by him should investigate the matter
anew, but that Contumeliosus, who, after the expiration of his
time of penance, had now returned to Eiez, should abstain
from the celebration of Mass and the administration of his
diocese until the matter was finished. For his sustentation,
however, he might receive what was necessary from the
property of the Church. To this letter also an appendix
of canons was added.2 The further course of the affair is
unknown.
1 This is the unnamed document which begins with the words, Ecce manifes-
tissime constat, in Mansi, t. viii. p. 811 sqq., and Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1156 sqq.
Cf. Histoire litttraire de la France, t. iii. p. 222 sq.
2 Mansi, t. viii. p. 856 ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1179.
SECOND SYNOD AT ORLEANS, A.D. 533. 185
SEC. 247. Second Synod at Orleans, A.D. 533.
In the preface to the minutes of their Synod, the bishops
who were present at the second Synod of Orleans declare that
they had come together at the command of the glorious Kings,
in order to take measures for the observance of the Catholic
law. By that expression they understand the yet living
sons of Chlodwig (Clovis) the Great, Childebert I., Chlotar
(Lothaire) I., and Theoderic I.
A still closer indication of the time is contained in the
subscription of the president of the Synod, Archbishop
Honoratus of Bourges (Biturica), since it bears date, Die ix,
Kal. Julias anno xxii. domni Childeberti regis. This means June
23, 533, as King Chlodwig died in November 5 II.1 From
what has been said it may be seen, that we have here before
us a kind of Prankish national Synod, since archbishops and
bishops were present from the most different kingdoms and
provinces. In the whole there were twenty- six prelates, and
five priests as representatives of absent bishops. Besides
Archbishop Honoratus of Bourges, who presided, we meet
besides the Metropolitans Injuriosus of Tours, Flavius of
Eouen, Aspasius of Eauze (Elosensis), and Julian of Vienne.
Another archbishop was represented by the priest Orbatus.
The following bishops also subscribed : — Leontius of Orleans,
Eleutherius of Auxerre, Chronopius of Perigueux (Petricorium,
in the province of Bordeaux, whose metropolitan was not
present), Lupicinus of Angouleme (Ecolisma or Icolisma, also
in the province of Bordeaux), Agrippinus of Autun (Civitas
j&duorum, in the province of Lyons, whose metropolitan was
not present), Otherius of Chartres (Carnutum), Eumerius of
Nantes, Amelius of Paris, Sustratius of Cahors, Perpetuus of
Avranches, Praesidius of Convenae (now S. Bertrand on the
Garonne, in the province Elusa or Eauze), Passivius of Seez
(Sagi), Proculcianus of Ausch (Auscii), and Lauto of Coutances
1 Cf. Pagi, ad ann. 514, n. 7-9, and ad ann. 536, n. 17. Baronius (ad ann.
514, n. 21, and 536, n. 124), Binius in Mansi (t. viii. p. 840), and Mansi (I.e.),
by mistake transpose the death of Chlodwig to the year 514, and therefore our
Synod to the year 536. Cf. the third Synod of Orleans (sec. 251, below), where
the twenty-seventh year of Childebert is declared to be identical with the fourth
year after the consulate of Paulinus the younger, i.e., with the year 538.
186 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
(Coiistantid). Seven bishops : Importunus, Callistus, Marcus,
Eusebius, Clarentius, Innocent, and Marcellus, did not append
the names of their sees. The representatives of the absent,
beside Orbatus already named, were the priests Asclepius for
Bishop Adelphius of Poitiers (instead of Eauracensi we
should read Ratiatensi, i.e. Pictaviensi, as Sirmond remarked),
Lawrence for Bishop Gallus of Clermont in Auvergne, Eledius
for Bishop Sebastius, and Prsesidonius for Bishop Artemius.
The sees of the last two are not named.1
The Synod drew up twenty-one canons as follows : —
1. No bishop must be absent from the Council or from
the consecration of a bishop (in his province).
2. A provincial Council shall be held annually.
3. No bishop must receive anything for the consecration
of another bishop, or of any other cleric.
4. If anyone has obtained the priesthood for money, he
must be deposed.
5. If a bishop is invited to bury a colleague, he must not
seek to free himself by false subterfuges. He must demand
nothing but his expenses for his trouble.
6. When he comes to the burial, he must call the priests,
enter with them the church house (the bishop's residence),
take an inventory of all that is there, and intrust some
responsible person with the care of it.
7. In regard to the ordination of a metropolitan, the
manner which has gone out of use shall be re-established.
After the metropolitan has been elected by the com-
provincial bishops, the clergy (of his diocese) and (vel)2
the laity, he shall be ordained by all the assembled
bishops.
8. If a deacon is brought into captivity, and during this
time marries, he must, after his return, be deposed from all
ministry in the Church. Yet, if he has done penance for his
offence, he may again receive the communion.
9. No priest may, without permission of the bishop, live
1 Archbishops and bishops subscribed after one another, without regard to
the rank of the churches. So at the Synod of Clermont, A.D. 535. Cf. Remi
Ceillier, I.e. t. xvi. p. 712.
2 In later Latin vel is often used. Cf. Du Cange, Glossar. s.v. vel.
SECOND SYNOD AT ORLEANS, A.D. 533. 187
with people of the world. If he nevertheless does so, he
must be excluded ab officii communione.1
10. No one must marry his stepmother.
11. Matrimonial contracts (matrimonia contracta),i$. sick-
ness happens, may not be given up at the will (of the parties).
12. If anyone has made a vow to sing, or to drink, or to
do anything else improper in the church, he must not keep
it ; for by such vows God is rather offended than pleased by
their observance.2
13. Abbots, martyrarii,3 monks, and priests must exhibit
no apostolia (letters of peace).
14. Clerics who neglect their office, and do not come to
church when duty requires, must be deprived of the dignity
of their office.
15. For those who are executed for any crime oblationes
defmictorum may be allowed, but not for suicides.
16. No one must be ordained priest or deacon, if he has
no education, or does not understand how to baptize.
17. Women who, in opposition to the canons (sec. 231),
have received the benediction as deaconesses, if they marry
again, must be excommunicated. If, at the admonition of the
bishop, they give up such a union, they may, after undergoing
penance, be admitted to communion again,
1 8. To no woman must henceforth the lenedictio diaconalis
be given, because of the weakness of the sex.
19. No Christian must marry a Jewess, and conversely.
If any such union has been accomplished, it must be dissolved
on pain of excommunication.
20. Catholics who return to the worship of idols or eat
food offered to idols, must be dismissed from Church member-
ship. So also with those who eat of animals which have died,
or which have been killed by other animals.
1 The expression communio ojficii I have found nowhere else, not even in Du
Cange, and none of those who treat of this Synod has given an explanation of it.
It certainly means : such an one shall not be excommunicated, but from the
exercise of the priestly office ; he shall have no more part in priestly functions.
2 These were pagan and superstitious vows.
3 The martyrarius is the custos martyrii, i.e. the church of a martyr. Cf.
Du Cange, s.v. Afartyrarius ; and Dictionary of Christian Antiquities, under
Apostolium and Martyrium.
188 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
21. Abbots who despise the prescriptions of the bishops,
must not be allowed at communion. Bishops, however, who
do iiot regard these canons, must know that they will be
responsible before God and their brethren.1
SEC. 248. Synod at Carthage, A.D. 535.
The Emperor Justinian the Great had, in the year 534,
sent his general Belisarius, with 600 ships and 35,000
soldiers, into Africa, to put an end to the Vandal kingdom.
In consequence, being freed from the long and heavy
oppression of the Arians, there met together 217 African
bishops, under the presidency of Archbishop Reparatus of
Carthage (successor of Boniface), in the year 535, in an
African general Council in the Basilica Fausti at Carthage,
which city had, in honour of the Emperor, received the
surname of Justiniana. In that church, which Hunneric
had previously wrested from the Catholics, there were many
relics of the martyrs, and the bishops believed that it was
owing to their intercession that they had been freed from
their oppressors. For a hundred years, they said, there had
been no African general Council held, and all the assembled
bishops were now filled with joy, and full of thanks to God
for this meeting. The ordinances of Niceea were read, and the
question then arose, whether those who had been Arian priests
(of the Vandals) should, after reception of the orthodox
doctrine, be left in their offices, or should only be taken into
lay communion. All the members of the Synod inclined to
the latter view; yet they would not decide, but resolved
unanimously to apply to Pope John 11. for guidance, not only
on this matter, but on the second question, whether those who
had been baptized as children of Arians might be admitted
into the clerical order.
To this end they addressed a synodal letter to the Pope,
and sent therewith two bishops of their number, Caius and
Peter, with the Carthaginian deacon Liberatus to Rome. At
the close of their letter they add, that it had often come to
1 Mansi. t. viii. p. 836 sqq. ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1174 sqq. ; Sirmond,
Concilia Gallice, t. i. p. 228 sq.
SYNOD AT CARTHAGE, A.D. 535. 189
pass that African bishops had, in an arbitrary manner, left
their churches, and betaken themselves to lands beyond the
sea (Italy). The Church had tolerated this in that unhappy
period (of Vandal supremacy). For the future, however, any
bishop or priest, or other cleric, if he should come without a
letter of peace, and could not show that he was sent for the
service of the Church, ought to be regarded in the same
manner as a heretic, and not received into communion by the
Pope.1
When the African deputies arrived in Eome, John n. was
already dead. Therefore his successor, Agapetus I., answered
the inquiries of the Synod, and added to his letter the ancient
canons which contained the ecclesiastical rules on the points
in question. This appendix is lost. In the letter itself, how-
ever, the Pope declares that (a) a converted Arian ought
never to be advanced to an ecclesiastical office, whatever his
age might have been (i.e. even if he were a child), when he
was spotted with that plague ; and that (&) their office in the
Church could not be left to the converted Arian priests, but
that they should receive support from the property of the
Church. Finally, the Pope fully conceded the wish of the
Synod in regard to the clergy travelling without leave, as it
was in accordance with the canons.2
Besides this, we possess a part of the minutes of the
Synod of Carthage in which the relation of the monasteries
to the bishops is treated. Bishop Felician of Euspe, the
successor of S. Fulgentius, brought forward that his predecessor
had founded a monastery in the city of Ruspe, and he prayed
now that something might be settled in the matter of monas-
teries. Thereupon Bishop Felix of Zactara (or Zattara), in
the ecclesiastical province of Numidia, declared : " In regard to
the monastery of the Abbot Peter, whose abbot is now
Fortunatus, they must abide by the decisions of the Synod
under Boniface (see above, sec. 238); but the other monas-
teries should enjoy the fullest liberty as far as the Councils
1 The synodal letters of the Africans to Pope John n. in Mansi, t. viii.
p. 808 ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1154.
2 Mansi, t. viii. p. 843 ; Baronius, ad ann. 535, n. 37 ; this document is
wanting in Hardouin.
190 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
allow. If they wish that clergy should be ordained or
oratories consecrated, this shall be done by the bishop of the
place or of the neighbourhood. In other respects, however,
the monasteries are independent of the bishop, and have no
duties to render to him. Moreover, the bishop must not
erect a chair (cathedra) for himself in any monastery, nor
must he ordain anyone without consent of the abbot. When
the abbot dies, the whole society (of the monastery) shall
elect a new one ; and the bishop shall in no way usurp the
right of election. If a dispute arises respecting the election
(among the monks), other abbots shall decide ; if the dispute
continues, the matter shall be brought before the primate of
the province. At divine service the bishop should read aloud
(from the diptychs), among the others whom he has ordained,
also the monks of his district whom he has ordained."1 We
do not know whether all of this was merely the private
opinion of Bishop Felix, or whether it was made a decree by
the Synod.
Finally, the Synod send an embassy to the Emperor
Justinian, to entreat of him the restoration of those posses-
sions and rights of the Churches in Africa which the Vandals
had taken away. The Emperor gave consent to this
request in the edict to Salomo, his Prtefectus Praetorio for
Africa.2
SEC. 249. Synod at Clermont, in Auvergne (Concilium
Arvernense), A.D. 535.
With the assent of King Theodebert of Austrasia, a
grandson of Chlodwig the Great, fifteen bishops assembled at a
Synod in the church at Clermont, in the country of the Arverni.
At the head stood Archbishop Honoratus of Bourges, whom
we have already learnt to know at the second Synod of
Orleans. We also meet here Bishops Flavius of Eeims,
Nicetius of Treves (Trier), Hesperius of Metz, Desideratus of
Verdun, Gramma ticus of Vindonissa,and Domitianus Coloniensis,
that is, of Coin (Cologne), or, as other manuscripts read,
1 Mansi, t. viii. p. 841 ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1177.
• Justinian! Novella 36 and 37 ; also printed in Baronius, ad ann, 535, n. 43.
SYNOD AT CLERMONT, IN AUVERGNE, A.D. 535. 191
Ecdesice Tungrorum, i.e. of Tungern.1 We see that Germany
had here a good many representatives. As usual, the ancient
canons were enjoined, and some new ones published.
1. No bishop shall bring forward at the Synod any other
subject until the transactions with reference to the improve-
ment of morals, and what concerns the salvation of the soul,
are ended.
2. A bishop shall be elected by the clergy and laity,
with the consent of the metropolitan. If anyone forces
himself in through favour of the powerful, or through cunning,
he shall be excommunicated.
3. Corpses must not be covered with palls and other
church effects (ministeria divina).2
4. The powerful of this world must not keep disobedient
clerics.
5. If anyone allows himself to be presented by Kings
with anything that belongs to the Church, he shall be ex-
communicated, and lose the gift.
6. The body of a sacerdos (bishop) must not be covered
with the cloak which is usually placed over the Body of
Christ (opertorium dominici corporis), otherwise, if this cloth
is given back to the Church, the altar would be dishonoured.
7. No church furniture may be lent for the adornment
of marriages. — Received into the Corpus jur. can. c. 43 ; De
consecrat. Dist. i.
8. Jews must not be appointed as judges over a Christian
population.
9. No bishop may seize the parishes of another.
10. No bishop may receive a foreign cleric without the
assent of his bishop, or advance him to higher orders.
11. Incestuous marriages are forbidden.
12. If anyone is ordained deacon or priest, he must not
continue matrimonial intercourse. He becomes a brother of
his wife. As, however, some, inflamed by desire, have cast off
the girdle of the warfare (of Christ), and have returned to
1 Cf. the note of Sirmond in Concil. Gallice, t. i. p. 606 sq. ; also in Mansi, t.
viii. p. 867. Wiltsch, Kirchl. Geographic u. Statistik, Bd. i. S. 103, Anm. 11.
2 On ministeria divina= church effects in general, cf. Du Cange, Glossar.
S.T. minislerium sacrum, t. iv. ed. Ben. p. 784 sqq.
192 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
matrimonial intercourse, it is ordained that such must lose
their dignity for ever.
13. Whoever takes from the Church anything which has
been bequeathed by writing to the Church, unless he restores
it immediately at the exhortation of the bishop, must be
expelled from the Christian Church.
14. If a priest or deacon does not belong to the canon
( = list of the clergy) of the city or of the rural parishes, but
lives in a villa and holds divine service in an oratory, he must
celebrate the festivals of Christmas, Easter, Pentecost, and the
other festivals with the bishop in his city. So also must the
grown up citizens go to the bishop of the city at the festivals
named, otherwise they must, at these feasts, be immediately
excommunicated.
15. Bishops, priests, and deacons must have no inter-
course with strange women, nor allow any nun, or strange
woman, or female servant (slave) to enter their chamber.
Whoever does not attend to this is excommunicated ; and the
bishop will be punished if he does not punish such an offence
in a priest or deacon.1
Some other canons, said to belong to the Synod of Cler-
mont, are placed by Mansi in his collection, t. viii p. 8 6 5 sqq.
Finally, the Synod addressed a letter to the Austrasian
King Theodebert, praying him that he would not consent that
any cleric or layman who possessed property in another
Prankish kingdom than that of his residence, should be
deprived of it. It should suffice that he paid tribute to the
lord of his country.2
SEC. 250. Synods at Constantinople and Jerusalem, A.D. 536.
After the death of the Patriarch Epiphanius, to which we
referred above (sec. 244), Anthimus, archbishop of Trapezont,
was, through the influence of the Empress Theodora, the consort
of Justinian, raised to the see of Constantinople. Like his
1 Mansi, t. viii. p. 859 sqq. ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1179 sqq. ; Sirmond, C&ncil.
Galliae, t. i. p. 241 sqq. Cf. Remi Ceillier, t. xvi. p. 712 sqq., and Hist, litter,
de la France, t iii. p. 171 sqq.
2 In Mansi, Hardouin, and Sirmond, ll.cc.
SYNODS AT CONSTANTINOPLE AND JERUSALEM, A.D. 536. 193
patroness he leaned to Monophysitism, and the Emperor
Justinian, in spite of his zeal for the Chalcedonian faith,
was. misled by Theodora and her party into the belief that
Anthimus was quite orthodox. Soon after, in February 536,
Pope Agapetus came to Constantinople, whither the East
Gothic King Theodatus had sent him, in order to confer, in
his name, with the Emperor on political affairs. In Con-
stantinople the Pope refused to have any fellowship with the
new patriarch, especially as the latter had been advanced un-
canonically from one bishopric to another, and, after a violent
collision with the Emperor, brought it about that Anthimus
was deposed, and the priest Mennas, president of the Hospice
Samson, in accordance with the wish of the Emperor, was
raised to the see, March 13, 536. The Pope himself was the
consecrator.
It is generally assumed, on the authority of the Byzantine
historian Theophanes, that the deposition of Anthimus and
the elevation of Mennas was decided at a Constantinopolitan
Synod;1 but Mansi (I.e. p. 871 sq.) contests its existence, and
seeks to show that it was not until after the deposition of
Anthimus that a kind of Synod, or at least an assembly of
Oriental bishops and archimandrites, took place, and forwarded
a letter to the Pope, who was then still in Constantinople.2
They asked in this that the Pope would give Anthimus a
period of time within which he must clear himself of the
suspicion of heresy, or be disqualified from holding the bishop-
ric of Trapezont. The Pope acquiesced, suspended Anthimus
for the present, and, from his sickbed, forwarded the memorial
in question to the Emperor. As the Pope died April 6 or
22, 536, at Constantinople, the matter could not be completed
until after his death, and this by a new Synod of Constantin-
1 Cf. Pagi, ad aim. 356, n. 5, 6 ; Mansi, t. viii. p. 869 sq.
2 The existence of this assembly is clear from a memorial of the monks of
Constantinople and Jerusalem to the following Synod (Mansi, t. viii. p. 888 ;
Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1195). They say: "The bishops assembled here from
Palestine and other countries in the East, etc., and we ourselves, request that
Anthimus shall clear himself of all suspicion of heresy before the papal see."
The Libellus Synodicus says that Pope Agapetus deposed Anthimus at a Synod
at Constantinople ; but its information on this subject is full of errors. Mansi,
t. viii. p. 1161 ; Hardouin, t. v. p. 1534.
IV. 13
194 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
ople, which has become famous, held in May and June 536,
which has left us very numerous and comprehensive Acts. These
were first edited by Severinus Binius in 1618, after a codex in
the library at Heidelberg, which, however, was in many places
defective, and in others erroneous and incoherent. A much
better text was discovered in the same year, 1618, by the
learned Jesuit Fronton le Due ; but he, too, left a good deal to
be gleaned by Labbe, a member of his own order. To the
industry of the latter we owe the present text.
The Acts of the first session, on the 2nd of May 536,
declare that the Synod was held at the command of the
Emperor. All their sessions, five in number, took place in the
eastern hall of S. Mary's Church, which lay in the neighbour-
hood of the great church. The Patriarch Mennas was
president. On his right sat five Italian bishops, who had
been sent at an earlier period by the Apostolic Chair to
Constantinople, and had remained there with Agapettis. They
were Sabinus of Canusium, Epiphanius of Ecbanum, Asterius
of Salerno, Kusticus of Faesulse, and Leo of Nola. Besides
these, there sat on the right hand twenty-three, on the left
twenty-four, metropolitans and bishops from the most
different parts of the Byzantine kingdom. The most celebrated
among them was Hypatius of Ephesus. Also on the left
were two deacons, two notaries, and several other clerics,
whom Agapetus had brought with him to Constantinople ;
moreover, the representatives of the absent patriarchs of
Antioch (Theopolis) and Jerusalem, and of the metropolitans
of Caesarea, Ancyra, and Corinth. Finally, the clergy of
Constantinople were present.
After all had taken their places, the deacon and over-
notary Euphemius brought forward the following : " The
priest Marinianus (Marianus), president (rjyov/jievo^ of the
Dalmatius monastery, also exarch of all the monasteries of
Constantinople, and the monks from Antioch and Jerusalem,
who are here present at the residence, have presented a
petition to the Emperor, and he has, in accordance with the
wish of the petitioners, commanded the reading of the petition
in the present assembly, so that they may decide what is in
accordance with the laws of the Church. The monks in
SYNODS AT CONSTANTINOPLE AND JERUSALEM, A.D. 536. 195
question and the Referendar Theodore assigned to them by
the Emperor now request permission to appear before the
Council." l
The Patriarch Mennas granted this request. More than
eighty abbots and monks from Constantinople, Antioch, and
Palestine came in, and the imperial Referendar presented the
document which they had addressed to Justinian. The
patriarch had it immediately read by a deacon. Its principal
contents are as follows : " Anthimus (the deposed archbishop
of Constantinople), Severus (the previous patriarch of
Antioch), Peter (of A'pamea, cf. sec. 233), and Zoaras (a
Eutychian monk) had stirred up dissensions, had pronounced
anathemas on the saints, and even in Constantinople had
erected profane altars and baptisteries over against the true
altars, etc. Anthimus in particular, formerly bishop of
Trapezont, had for a long time left his church, and, under the
semblance of an ascetic manner of life, had united himself
with the heretics (Monophysites), by whose help he attained
to the see of Constantinople in a thoroughly uncanonical
manner. Agapetus of Rome had, in union with the
Emperor, deposed him, and advanced Mennas to his place.
Somewhat later, in union with the bishops of Palestine and
other Oriental 2 countries assembled at Constantinople, we
requested (the Pope), in a new memorial, that Anthimus
should be required to clear himself of all suspicion of heresy
and resume his see in Trapezont ; and, if he could not do the
first, then he should be altogether deposed from the priest-
hood. This request Agapetus had anticipated, had suspended
Anthimus with the other previously-named heretics (Severus,
etc.) from all priestly functions until they had done penance,
and had presented the memorial of the monks and bishops to
the Emperor. The Emperor, they prayed, would not think
lightly of the judgment of this man who had died in the
meantime, but would accomplish it, and free the world from
the plague of Anthimus and the other heretics named." 3
1 Mansi, t. viii. p. 877 sqq. ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1187 sqq.
2 This is the passage which proves the existence of one of the previous
Synods at Constantinople at this period. See the note before last.
3 Mansi, t. viii. pp. 881-890 ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1190 sqq.
196 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
Upon this a report (StSao-icaXiKov), addressed by the same
monks to the Patriarch Mennas, was read, in which they make
him acquainted with all their steps against Anthimus, and
with his history, which we already know — how he had
left the bishopric of Trapezont, had hypocritically begun an
ascetic life, had united himself with the heretics, and had
usurped the see of Constantinople. They, the monks, had
repeatedly requested him to declare whether he agreed with
the Council of Chalcedon and Pope Leo, and anathematised
Eutyches and Dioscurus. God had now awakened Agapetus,
and he drove Anthimus from the episcopal chair of Constan-
tinople and consecrated Mennas, who had been elected by the
Emperor, and the clergy of the Church, and other distinguished
men. Somewhat later they had presented to the Pope the
now well-known new memorial respecting Anthimus ; but
Agapetus had died, and they had now turned to the Emperor
again, and on this account the present Synod was held.1
The next document that was read was the letter which
the monks, some time after the deposition of Anthimus, had
addressed to the Pope. They call him there the " oecumenical
patriarch," and complain of the Acephaloi and the schismatics,
who had got up mischief against the Churches, the Pope, and
the Emperor. In particular, the Monophysite monks had
knocked out an eye from a likeness of the Emperor; and one
of them, the Persian Isaac, had struck it with a stick, and at
the same time uttered insulting words against the Emperor,
really against God, for whose cause he had insulted the like-
ness. When the stick broke, he had torn the painted linen
and cast it into the fire. These heretics had also insinuated
themselves into the houses of several persons of distinction,
and had led astray women ; had set up in their own dwellings
and in the suburbs false altars and baptisteries, protected by
powerful persons of the very house of the Emperor (i.e. by
the Empress Theodora). This the Pope should not endure ;
but, as he had formerly risen against Anthimus, and driven
1 Mansi, t. viii. p. 892 ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1198. That this 2/$«<r*aA<xov was
addressed to Mennas is shown by its contents, particularly near the middle, the
passage : T>I» S« vftiripav ^axa^oTxra, *. <r.x. Walch incorrectly maintains that it
was an oral address by Abbot Marianus. Walch, Ketzerhist. Bd. vii. S. 149.
SYNODS AT CONSTANTINOPLE AND JERUSALEM, A.D. 536. 197
that wolf away, so ought he now to make representations to
the Emperor, and drive away the offenders. The Emperor,
as was known, had forbidden these outside baptisms and
services (in private oratories, etc.) ; but in spite of this, Zoaras
(a Eutychian monk) had baptized not a few at the last
Easter festival, and among them children of courtiers.1
After this the story of Anthimus is told, his attaining
to the see of Constantinople, and his deposition by the Pope
related, and the latter adjured by the Holy Trinity and by
the Apostle Peter, etc., to appoint a fixed time to Anthimus,
within which he should declare his orthodoxy in writing and
return to his church at Trapezont which he had left, if he did
not wish even to be deposed. The Pope should also cite
before him all the other numerous bishops, clergy, and archi-
mandrites who held with Anthimus, and punish them in
accordance with the canons, particularly Severus, Peter, and
Zoaras. Finally, they mention that not only the Eutychians
but also the Nestorians had sought to rend the Church.2
A similar letter had been addressed to the Pope by the
bishops of the Oriental dioceses assembled in Constantinople,
together with those of Palestine arid the representatives of
others ; and this too was read ; 3 also the letter which
Agapetus, after the deposition of Anthimus, had sent to the
Patriarch Peter of Jerusalem and his bishops. He remarks
in this that Anthimus had not only uncanonically got
possession of the see of Constantinople, but, still more, that
he persisted in the heresy of Eutyches, and had not allowed
himself to be brought back by the Pope to the right doctrine.
He had therefore declared him unworthy to be called
Catholic and priest. His associates had also been condemned
by the sentence of the apostolic see. The bishopric of Con-
stantinople, however, had been obtained by Mennas, a very
excellent man, the respect for whom had been heightened by
this, that the Pope himself had ordained him, a case which
had not occurred since the times of the apostles. But
Mennas had been elected by the Emperor, with the assent of
1 Walch. Ketzcrhist. Bd. vii. S. 150, makes this "children of slaves."
- Mansi, t. viii. pp. 896-912 ; Hardouin, t. ii. pp. 1203-1217.
3 Maiisi, t. viii. pp. 913-921 ; Hardouin, t. ii. pp. 1217-1224.
198 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
the clergy and laity. Agapetus is surprised that Peter of
Jerusalem had given no notice to the Pope of the uncanonical
elevation of Anthimus to the throne of Constantinople, and
had even consented to it, and he hopes that the bishops of
Palestine will now receive none of those whom the Pope
condemns.1
Finally, Mennas declared that he intended to send a
deputation of seven bishops, priests, and notaries to
Anthimus, in order to inform him of the present Synod, and
to invite him to appear within three days and give full
assurance with regard to the points noted (that is, in
regard to his orthodoxy 2). The first session thus ter-
minated.
At the second session, on May 6, in the same place,
the monks again petitioned to be admitted, and after they
were introduced, the minutes of the first session were read in
their presence, and the deputies of the Synod who had been
sent to Anthimus related that they had sought him in the
most different places, but had nowhere found him. The
Patriarch Mennas then allowed him a further respite of three
days, and commissioned seven other bishops and clerics to
seek him and summons him to the Synod.3
The third session, on May 10, was exactly like the
second. The petition of the monks for admission was again
granted, the minutes of the previous transactions were read,
and the deputies related that they had not been able to
find Anthimus anywhere. The Patriarch Mennas then
allowed a third and last respite of ten days. If within that
time he had not cleared himself of the suspicion of heresy, he
would be condemned in accordance with the sentence pro-
nounced against him by Agapetus. Again seven deputies
were appointed to seek him, and the summons at the same
time ordered to be publicly proclaimed. In accordance with
this resolution a public letter was addressed to Anthimus.
This letter occurs in the Acts of the fourth session. It is
dated May 15, and sent out by the "oacumenical patriarch"
1 Mansi, t. viii. pp. 921-924 ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1225 sq.
2 Mansi, t. viii. p. 925 ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1227.
8 Mansi, t. viii. pp. 925-936 ; Hardouin, t. ii. pp. 1227-1235.
SYNODS AT CONSTANTINOPLE AND JERUSALEM, A.D. 536. 199
Mennas and the whole Synod ; l and gives only a period of
six days, as it was not published until the deputies had spent
several days in vain inquiries after Anthimus.
After they had given a sufficient explanation of this at
the fourth session, on May 21, Mennas asked both the Italian
and the Greek bishops their opinion. The former, together
with the Roman deacons, declared in few words that they
held thoroughly to the judgment which had already been
pronounced on Anthimus by Agapetus. Hypatius of Ephesus
spoke as representative of the Greek bishops, and explained
at greater length the offence of Anthimus, particularly that
he rejected the Chalcedonian expression ev 8vo (^ucrecrt ; and
closed with the decision that he should be deposed from the
bishopric of Trapezont and all ecclesiastical dignities in
accordance with the judgment of the Pope, and should be
deprived of the name of Catholic. This sentence was imme-
diately proclaimed by Mennas in a solemn address. As
frequently happened, there then broke forth numerous
exclamations in honour of the Emperor and patriarch, and
for the rejection of heretics.
At the same time the monks of Jerusalem presented a
new memorial, and wanted, with their friends, in the general
excitement to have this publicly read, and the resolution
taken that the monasteries inhabited by the Eutychians, and
especially by Zoaras, should be immediately suppressed.
Mennas, however, pacified them with the remark, that it
would be necessary first to acquaint the Emperor with this
demand, since nothing could be done in the Church against
his will and command (/J,rj8ev rcav ev rfj ajiforaTrj €KK\r)a-ia
Kivov/jievwv irapa yvca/jirjv ainov real tce\€vaiv yeveadai). At
the same time, as compensation, Mennas added : " We follow
and obey the apostolic see, with which he has communion, as
we also have ; and whom he condems we also condemn." At
the close the minutes were signed by all the bishops present,
together with the Eoman deacons and the representatives of
absent bishops.2
Very voluminous are the Acts of the fifth session, held
1 Mansi, t. viii. p. 960 ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1254.
- Mansi, t. viii. pp. 980-984 ; Hardouin, t. ii. pp. 1246-1267.
200 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
June 4, 536, since here numerous documents were read and
embodied. The first was a memorial addressed to the
Emperor by Paul of Apamea and the other bishops of Syria
II., in which they set forth their own orthodoxy, pronounced
anathema on all persons of Monophysite opinions, and
particularly on Anthimus, Severus (of Antioch), and Peter
(formerly bishop of Apamea), and besought the Emperor to
banish the heretics.1
The second document, also addressed to the Emperor,
was a petition of the monks already mentioned of Constan-
tinople, Jerusalem, Syria, and Palestine, requesting that the
Emperor would recommend that the Patriarch Mennas and
the Synod would hold a new session for the punishment of
Severus, Peter, and Zoaras.2 Then followed the reading of
the memorial, which these same monks had presented to
Mennas at the end of the fourth session, as we have heard.
They express therein their satisfaction that Anthimus has been
condemned ; but remark that Satan has still two other active
assistants, Severus and Peter, who had pronounced anathema
on the Synod of Chalcedon and Pope Leo, had persecuted the
orthodox, had maltreated and even killed many of them, and
had, in an unlawful manner, got possession of the sees of
Antioch and Apamea. Severus, in particular, had formerly
served demons at Berytus, and even now was not free from
heathenism ; for immediately after his baptism he had con-
nected himself with the Acephaloi, and as their head had
rejected the Henoticon. Later, after he had usurped the
episcopal chair, he had made believe that he accepted this,
and had united with the bishop of Alexandria, Peter Mongus.
He had even gone so far as to inscribe his name on the
diptychs of Antioch, although he had previously himself
demanded his banishment from Alexandria. To increase the
disorder, he had then also received Peter of Iberia, and had
entered into fellowship with the other Acephaloi.3 He had
indeed already been deposed and excommunicated along with
1 Mansi, t. viii. pp. 980-984 ; Hardonin, t. ii. pp. 1270-1274.
2 Mansi, t. viii. pp. 984-996 ; Hardouin, t. ii. pp. 1274-1283.
3 On Peter of Iberia, bishop of Gaza, who with Timothy .ffilurus was deposed
and exiled, cf. Walch, Ketzerhist. Bd. vi. S. 960.
SYNODS AT CONSTANTINOPLE AND JERUSALEM, A.D. 536. 201
his adherents ; but they had escaped punishment by flight,
and later on had ventured to lay waste the city of Constantin-
ople. Peter of Apamea and Severus had here their conven-
ticles and their baptisteries, had led many astray, and also
had seduced many women, and all this had been proved under
Pope Hormisdas at Rome. Mennas and the Synod were
therefore requested to pronounce anew anathema upon
Severus, Peter, and their adherents, and also on the Syrian
Zoaras, who had rejected the holy Fathers, had held unauthor-
ised Church service, and had administered baptism. Besides
this, the impious books of Severus should be condemned to
the fire.1
At the wish of the Italian bishops and of the Roman
deacons there were now two letters read of Pope Hormisdas,
first in Latin, and then in a Greek translation. The one of
date February 10, 518, was addressed to the priests, deacons,
archimandrites, and all the orthodox of Syria II., and con-
tained the answer to a complaint of the orthodox monks of
Syria, who had been cruelly ill-treated by Severus (in the
time of the Emperor Anastasius). The Pope exhorted them
to endurance and loyalty to the faith, and warned them
against the adherents of Eutyches, against Dioscurus, and
Peter of Alexandria, against Acacius of Constantinople (the
originator of the Henoticori), against Peter of Antioch,
Severus, Xenaias, Peter of Apamea, etc.2
Somewhat later is the second letter of Pope Hormisdas,
which was addressed, March 26, 521, after the restoration of
union between the Greek and Roman Churches, to the new
Patriarch Epiphanius of Constantinople (see sec. 233), and
gave him instructions as to the manner in which those who
had been misguided by the Monophy sites, particularly by
Severus, should be reconciled to the Church.3
At the command of the Patriarch Mennas the notaries of
his church further read all the documents connected with
this subject, which had been received and deposited in the
archives of Constantinople, first, the complaint which the
1 Mansi, t. viii. pp. 996-1021 ; Hardouin, t. ii. pp. 1283-1306.
2 Mansi, I.e. p. 1024 sqq. ; Hardouin, I.e. p. 1306 sq.
3 Mansi, I.e. p. 1029 sqq. ; Hardouin, I.e. p. 1311 sqq.
202 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
clergy of Antioch had addressed, in the year 518, respecting
the intruder Severus, to the Patriarch John of Constantinople
and the Synod assembled around him. We have already
referred to this (sec. 233), and it is there told how Severus,
in opposition to the canons, had got hold of the see of
Antioch, had spoken blasphemies against God, rejected the
holy Synods, imprisoned the orthodox, offered impious sacri-
fices to demons, and had carried away and appropriated to
himself the gold and silver doves which hung over the altars
and fonts (KokvpftrjOpa), because he did not like to represent
the Holy Ghost in the form of a dove.1
On this followed the Acts of the just mentioned Synod of
Constantinople of A.D. 518: (a) Its synodal letter to the
Patriarch John,2 containing the decrees of the Synod in refer-
ence to the (b) petition of the monks of Constantinople.3
(c) The third document describes the stormy proceedings at
Constantinople, which preceded the calling of the Synod of
A.D. 518, by which the people had demanded with all decision
the anathema upon Severus.4 (d) The fourth and fifth docu-
ments are two letters of the Patriarch John of Constantinople,
of the year 548, to the Bishop John of Jerusalem and
Epiphanius of Tyre, in which he requested them to accede to
the decrees of his Synod, and so to the anathema on Severus.5
(e) The sixth and seventh places were occupied by the
answers of the bishops of Jerusalem and Tyre, who, in the
name of the provincial Synods held by them had agreed to
the sentence on Severus (A.D. 518), and fully discussed his
offence.6 (/) The eighth document, without superscription,
gives an account of the proceedings at Tyre before the open-
ing of the Synod there (A.D. 518), at which the people had
most decidedly demanded that anathema should be pronounced
on Severus.7 (g) In accordance with the requirement of
1 Mansi, I.e. p. 1037 sqq. ; Hardouin, I.e. p. 1317.
2 Mansi, I.e. pp. 1041-1049 ; Hardouin, I.e. pp. 1322-1327.
3 Mansi, I.e. pp. 1049-1056 ; Hardouin, I.e. p. 1327 sqq. Compare above,
sec. 233.
4 Mansi, I.e. pp. 1057-1065 ; Hardouin, I.e. p. 1334 sqq.; cf. sec. 233.
8 Mansi, I.e. p. 1065 sqq.; Hardouin, I.e. p. 1342.
e Mansi, I.e. p. 1068 sqq.; Hardouin, I.e. p. 1342 sqq.
7 Mansi, I.e. pp. 1081-1092 ; Hardouin, I.e. pp. 1354-1362.
SYNODS AT CONSTANTINOPLE AND JERUSALEM, A.D. 536. 203
John of Constantinople the bishops of Syria II. had also held
a Synod and pronounced anathema on Severus. They
thought good also to suspend the same sentence over Peter
of Apamea, and sent to John of Constantinople and his Synod
their own synodal letter, together with a long appendix
which contained all the numerous complaints, etc., received
against Peter of Apamea. These documents were now also
read again, A.D. 536.1
Hereupon Mennas invited the Synod now to give its
judgment ; and after this had been done by the Latins and
the other members (through an interpreter),2 Mennas an-
nounced, in a longer address, the decision, that Severus,
Peter, Zoaras, and their adherents, and all who held con-
venticles and baptized without authority, together with
their writings, should be smitten with anathema. This
sentence was subscribed by all, and the Synod was then
closed.
Two months later, August 6, 536, the Emperor Justinian
published an edict directed against Anthimus, Severus, Peter
of Apamea, and Zoaras, in the form of a letter to the
Patriarch Mennas, in which he confirmed the ecclesiastical
sentences pronounced against them, and forbade them to
reside henceforth in Constantinople and its neighbourhood,
or in any other large city, to disseminate their doctrine, to
baptize, etc. Of Severus it was alleged, in an astonishing
manner, that he sometimes defended the Nestorian and some-
times the Eutychian error, although they were as far as
possible opposed. All the adherents of these men were, like
them, exiled, and the books of Severus were to be burnt by
everyone who possessed them. Whoever should receive the
1 Mansi, I.e. pp. 1093-1136 ; Hardouin, I.e. pp. 1362-1394.
2 The Vote of the Greek and Oriental bishops bears the superscription :
Sententia Epiphanii patriarchs et Synodi, etc., Mansi, I.e. p. 1137 ; Hardouin,
I.e. p. 1394. This is evidently incorrect, for the whole context of this Sentcntia
shows that it was preceded by the reading of the numerous documents which
were presented at the Synod of Constantinople, so that they could not have
proceeded from the Patriarch Epiphanius of Constantinople (520-535.) Per-
haps, instead of Epiphanii, we should read Hypatii, who, in the fourth session,
spoke as the representative of the Greek and Syrian majority (Mansi, I.e. p. 961,
and Hardouin, I.e. p. 1258), and in a similar manner "in the name of the
Synod," as is here ascribed to Epiphanius.
204 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
banished into his house and support them, his house and
goods should be confiscated and made over to the Church.
Mennas, finally, was requested to transmit this edict to the
other metropolitans.1
After Mennas had communicated this imperial edict to
the Palestinian monks now returning to their home, and had
added a letter of his own to the Patriarch Peter of Jerusalem,
the latter assembled, September 19, 536, the bishops of the
three provinces of Palestine in a Synod in the Secretarium
of his Episcopal Church. The two letters above mentioned,
and, besides these, also the Acts of the five sessions of Con-
stantinople, which had been communicated by Mennas, were
read aloud, and then the assent of the Synod to the deposi-
tion of Anthimus was solemnly declared. All present, forty-
nine in number, subscribed.2 No sentence against Severus
of Antioch and Peter of Apamea is contained in the Acts of
Jerusalem. Walch3 supposes that the silence on both has
its foundation in this, that the bishops of Palestine had
already condemned both. This is not so. Walch here con-
founds the Palestinian and the Syrian bishops. The former
had pronounced judgment only over Severus, in the year
518. Compare sec. 233.
SEC. 251. Third Synod at Orleans, A.D. 538.
The third Synod of Orleans, like the second, was not
merely a provincial Synod, since the bishops of several
ecclesiastical provinces took part in it. The president was
the Metropolitan Lupus of Lyons, although the city and
diocese of Orleans did not belong to his province, but to that
of Sens. Besides him there were present the Metropolitans
Pantagathus of Vienne, Leo of Sens, Arcadius of Bourges, and
Flavius of Rouen. The archbishop of Tours, Injuriosus, was
represented by a priest. The Acts were subscribed by
nineteen bishops, and seven priests as representatives of
absentees. In the subscription of Archbishop Lupus, the
1 Mansi, I.e. p. 1149 sqq. ; Hardouin, I.e. p. 1406 sqq.
2 Mansi, I.e. pp. 1164-1176 ; Hardouin, I.e. pp. 1410-1419.
3 Ketzerhist. Thl. vii. S. 160, Anm. 2.
THIRD SYNOD AT ORLEANS, A.D. 538. 205
time of the holding of the Synod is given as Die Nonarum
mensis tertii, quarto post consulatum Paulini junioris V. C. anno
27 regni Domini ChUdeberti regis. This indicates the year
538, and probably the 7th of May, since in ancient times it
was common to begin the year with the 25th of March.1
The assembled bishops declare their aim to be the re-establish-
ment of the old laws of the Church and the passing of new
ones. This they accomplished in thirty-three canons, many
of which contain several ordinances : —
1. The metropolitan must every year summon a pro-
vincial Synod. If he fails for two years, in spite of being
requested by the suffragans, he must not venture to say Mass
for a whole year.
2. No cleric, from a subdeacon upwards, must have con-
nubial intercourse with his wife, whom he formerly possessed.
A bishop who allows it, is to be suspended for three months.
3. Metropolitans, when possible, are to be ordained by
other metropolitans, but in presence of the comprovincial
bishops. But they are to be chosen, as the decrees of the
apostolic see ordain, by the comprovincials, in agreement
(cum consensu) with the clergy and the citizens. The ordinary
bishop is to be chosen by the clergy and the citizens, with
consent of the metropolitan.
4. Intercourse with strange women forbidden.
5. Whatever is left to the Churches in cities shall be in
the power of the bishop, who can expend it for church
repairs, or for the sustentation of the clergy ministering in
the churches receiving the legacy. In regard to the pro-
perty of village churches, the custom of each locality shall
be observed. Cf. the canon of the Synod of Carpentras,
sec. 239.
6. A layman may not be ordained until a year after his
conversion (see sec. 222), nor until he has reached the
proper age, twenty-five years for a deacon, and thirty for a
priest. No one may become a cleric who has been married
1 The 7th of May as the date of our Synod is adopted by Sirmond, Cmicttia
Qallix, t. i. p. 247 ; Mansi, t. ix. p. 19 ; Remi Ceillier, Hist, des auteurs sacrts, t.
xvi. p. 725. On the other hand, the authors of the Hist. litUraire de la France (t.
iii. p. 178) decide for the 7th of March, but have incorrectly printed 558 for 538.
206 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
twice, or to a widow, or who has undergone ecclesiastical
penance, or is semus corpore (i.e. imperfectus or mutilatus), or
tormented (arreptus) l by a demon. If, however, such an one
should be ordained, he is to be deposed, and the bishop who
ordained him suspended from clerical functions. If he still
says Mass, he is to be excluded for a whole year ab omnium
fratrum caritate (cf. canon 20 of the Synod of Chalcedon in
vol. iii.). If anyone gives false witness at an ordination, so
that an unworthy person is ordained, he is to be deprived of
communion for a year.
7. If a cleric who has been willingly ordained marries
after his ordination, he and his wife must be excommunicated.
If he has been ordained against his will and under protest (if
he marries), he loses his office, but he is not to be excommuni-
cated. The bishop who consecrates anyone against his will,
and in spite of his refusal, is to be suspended for a year from
celebrating Mass. If a higher (honoratior) cleric confesses or
is proved to have committed adultery, he is to be deposed,
and for the rest of his life shut up in a monastery, but not
deprived of the communion. — Partly received into the Corp.
jur. can. as c. 1, Dist. Ixxiv., and c. 10, Dist. Ixxxi.
8. The cleric who has been guilty of a theft or of a
falsehood, is to be degraded from the Ordo, but not excom-
municated. A perjurer is to be excommunicated for two
years.
9. Whoever, during his wife's life, or after her death, has
had intercourse with a concubine, must not be ordained. If,
through ignorance of this prohibition, he is already ordained,
he may remain among the clergy.
10. Incestuous marriages are forbidden. If neophytes,
immediately after their baptism, and in ignorance of this pro-
hibition, contracted such a marriage, it shall not be dissolved.
1 1. Clerics who will not fulfil the duties of their office,
nor obey the bishop, shall not be reckoned among the
canonicis clericis (that is, the clergy inscribed in the Church
register), nor like these receive support from Church pro-
perty.
1 2. Church property must not be alienated, nor burdened
1 Cf. Du Cange, Glossar. s.vv. semus and arreptus.
THIRD SYNOD AT ORLEANS, A.D. 538. 207
without necessity. If any has been alienated, it may be
recovered for thirty years after.
13. If Christians are slaves to Jews, and shall do any-
thing contrary to the Christian religion, or if their masters
venture to attempt to strike them on account of any act
allowed by the Church, and they flee repeatedly to the
church, the bishop is not to give them up unless the value of
the slave in question is paid down (as a pledge that no harm
shall be done him). Christians must not marry with Jews,
nor even eat with them.
14. At the principal festivals, at least, Mass is to begin
at the third hour (9 A.M.), so that the priests, if the office is
discharged at the proper hours, may be able to come together
at vespers, for on such days the sacerdos must be present at
vespers.
15. No bishop must ordain clerics or consecrate altars in
strange dioceses. If he does so, those who are ordained by
him are to be removed (remotis) ; but the consecration of the
altars holds, and he (the bishop), must refrain from saying
Mass for a year. No cleric must be appointed to office in a
strange diocese without the consent of his bishop. No priest,
deacon, or subdeacon, who travels without a letter from his
bishop, may be received to communion.
16. If anyone carries off a virgin dedicated to God, or
one who is vowed (has vowed the ascetic life), and does her
violence, he shall be shut out from communion to the end of his
life. If the woman carried off consents to intercourse with
the ravisher, she must share the same excommunication.
The same applies to penitents and widows who have taken a
vow (see sec. 237).
17. If a cleric has received anything through the
favour of a previous bishop, he must not be deprived of it
by the succeeding bishop, but an exchange may be made so
long as he is not injured. On the other hand, a bishop may
deprive a cleric of what he has himself given, in case he is
disobedient, etc.
18. If the administration of a monastery, a diocese
(parochial church),1 or basilica is committed to a clergyman
1 Cf. Du Cange, s.v. Dioecesis, n. 2.
208 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
in an episcopal church, it rests with the bishop to decide
whether he will allow him anything (of the income) of his
previous office.
19. If any through pride neglects his office, he must be
deposed (ab ordine depositus) to lay communion until he does
penance (i.e. so long he shall be suspended) ; yet the bishop
shall treat him with kindness and allow him his income.
20. If a cleric believes that he is wronged by the bishop,
he may appeal to the Synod.
21. Clerics who have entered into a conspiracy, must be
punished by the Synod. — Received into the Corp. jur. can. as
c. 25, C. xi. q. 1.
22. Whoever takes any of the property of a Church or a
bishop, must be excommunicated until he makes restitution.
So also with anyone who prevents the legacies of departed
persons from descending to the Church, or wants to take
back what he has himself previously given to the Church.
23. No abbot, priest, etc., may alienate anything of
Church property without the bishop's permission and signa-
ture.— This is c. 41, C. xii. q. 2.
24. The benedictio pcenitentice (see above, sees. 222 and
231) must not be given to young people, particularly not to
married people unless they are already advanced in
years, and both sides are agreeable. Cf. Frank, On
the Penitential Discipline of the Church, Mainz 1867, p.
679.
25. If anyone after reception of the benedictio pcenitentice
returns to a secular life or to the militia?- he may receive
communion only on his deathbed.
26. No slave or farmer (colonus) must be ordained.
The bishop who knowingly ordains one who is not free, must
refrain from saying Mass for a year.
27. No cleric, from a deacon upwards, must lend money
on interest, toil from sordid covetousness, carry on any
forbidden business, etc.
28. It is a Jewish superstition that it is unlawful to ride
or drive on Sunday, or do anything for the decoration of house or
1 The militia togata=Givil State service ; the militia paliidata=mi\ii&vy
service. Cf. Frank, I.e. S. 688.
SYNODS AT BARCELONA AND PROVINCE OF BYZACENE. 209
person. But field labours are forbidden, so that people may
be able to come to church and worship. If anyone acts
otherwise, he is to be punished, not by the laity, but by the
bishop.
29. No layman must depart from Mass before the Lord's
Prayer. If the bishop is there he must await his blessing.
No one must appear armed at Mass or vespers.
38. From Maundy Thursday for four days onwards, Jews
must not appear among Christians.
31. The judge who does not punish a rebaptizer is to be
excommunicated for a year.
32. No cleric may bring a layman before a secular
tribunal without permission of the bishop ; nor any layman a
cleric without the same permission.
33. No bishop may transgress these canons.1
SEC. 252. Synods at Barcelona and in the Province of Byzacene.
About the year 540, Archbishop Sergius of Tarragona
with his suffragans celebrated a provincial Synod at Barce-
lona, which gave ten quite short, but not easily intelligible,
canons : —
1. Before the Canticum, Ps. 1. [li.] {Miserere) is to be
said.
2. The blessing is to be given at matins as well as at
vespers. — Of. c. 30 of Agde, sec. 222.
3. No cleric may dress hair or shave the beard.
4. A deacon may not sit in the presence of a presbyter.
5. In the presence of the bishop, priests shall say prayers
in proper order (orationes in ordine colligant 2).
6. Penitents must shave their heads, wear a monk's frock,
and dedicate their lives to fasting and prayer.
7. They must not take part in banquets.
1 Mansi, t. ix. pp. 10-22 ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1422 ; Sinnond, Condi. Gallise,
t. i. p. 247 sqq. Still better in Bruns, Biblioth. Eccl. t. i. pt. ii. p. 191 sqq.
(from the incomplete Benedictine edition of the Gallican Synods).
2 Colleda is like oratio, because the priest collects into one the wishes and
prayers of those present. Orationes colligere=colledas dicere, cf. Du Cange,
s.v. Collecta, n. 8, t. ii. p. 754. Remi Ceillier (t. xvi. p. 731) and Richard
(Analysis Condi, t. i. p. 351) read absentc, instead ofprasscnte.
iv. 14
210 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
8. If invalids request and receive penance, they must,
when they are well again, live on as penitents. The laying
on of hands, however (the sign of Church penance proper),
must not be imparted to them. They are to be deprived
of the communion until the bishop has found their life
confirmed.
9. The sick shall receive the benedictio viatica (i.e. the
viaticum). See sec. 229.
10. In regard to monks, the ordinances of the Synod of
Chalcedon (in many of its canons) are valid.1
Through two edicts of the Emperor Justinian we obtain
information respecting an African Synod of the province of
Byzacene, A.D. 541, under the Primate (Metropolitan)
Dacian. The minutes of the Synod are not extant. The
principal subject of the transactions, however, seems to have
had reference to the rights and privileges of the province of
Byzacene and its Synod ; and the assembly sent two deputies
to the Emperor in order to obtain his approbation of their
decrees. Justinian gave this to the effect that in all ecclesi-
astical proceedings in Africa, and also with regard to Councils,
and the privileges of the metropolitans of Carthage and the
primates of Numidia and Byzacene, the older practice and the
earlier decisions should remain.2
SEC. 253. Fourth Synod at Orleans, A.D. 541.
The great Prankish National Synod, which was held at
Orleans under the consulate of Basil (i.e. A.D. 541), as the
subscription of its president specifies, was attended by bishops
from almost all the provinces of Gaul. Fleury and, after
him, Kemi Ceillier (t. xvi. p. 732) maintain, that all the three
kingdoms into which the great Frankish kingdom was divided
were here represented, and that only from Narbonensis I. was
there no bishop present, because this province then belonged to
1 Mansi, t. ix. p. 110 sq. ; Hardouin, t. ix. p. 1434 sq. ; Gonzalez, Coleccion
de Canones, Madrid 1849, t. ii. p. 686 sqq.
2 The two imperial decrees to the Byzacene Council and its president,
the Primate Dacian, dated October 6, 541, and October 29, 542, are printed in
Baronins, ad arm. 541, n. 10-12.
FOURTH SYNOD AT ORLEANS, A.D. 541. 211
the Spanish West Gothic kingdom. On the other hand, Kichard
(Analysis Concil. t. i. p. 531 sq.) showed that no bishop was
present from the kingdom (Soissons) of Lothaire (Chlotar),
nor yet from the two Germanic and the two Belgian provinces ;
whilst there was one from Narbonensis i., namely, Firminus of
Ucetia (Uzez). The president was Archbishop Leontius of
Bordeaux. Besides him there were many other metropolitans
present, altogether thirty-eight bishops and twelve representa-
tives of bishops. Among those present we find also Bishop
Grammaticus of Vindonissa.1 The thirty-eight canons of this
assembly are as follows : —
1. The Easter festival must be celebrated by all at the
same time, according to the Table of Victorius (see vol. i. p.
330). As early as the Epiphany the bishop shall proclaim
the day of Easter to the people. If a doubt arises as to the
festival, the metropolitans shall apply to the apostolic see for a
decision.
2. In all churches Lent (Quadragesima) shall be held in
the same manner, and not in some a Quinquagesima or
Sexagesima. Everyone who is not sick must fast also on the
Saturdays of Lent ; only Sunday is excepted.
3. It is not permitted to distinguished laymen to keep
the Easter festival outside the episcopal city (in their
oratories).
4. At the oblation of the holy chalice, only wine from
the grape, mixed with water, must be used.
5. A newly-elected bishop must be consecrated in the
church over which he is to preside.
6. The parochial clergy (parochiani clerici) shall receive
from the bishops the canons which it is necessary for them to
read.
7. Strange clergymen must not be admitted into the
oratories on country estates without permission of the bishop
in whose diocese the oratory lies.
8. In the case of those who have fallen into heresy after
baptism, but do penance, the bishop shall decide when and
how they shall be restored to communion.
1 Cf. my treatise on the Introduction of CJiristianity into S.-W. Germany,
p. 176.
212 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
9. If a bishop, in opposition to the canons, has sold or
pledged any Church property, and if he leaves none of his
property to the Church, it must be reclaimed for the Church.
If he has bestowed their liberty on any of the slaves of the
Church (to a moderate number), these shall remain free.
10. If a bishop has knowingly ordained a bigamist, or
the husband of a widow, a Levite, or a priest, he must know
that he is suspended for a year from all clerical function ;
and the unlawfully ordained shall be degraded.
11. Anything presented to abbots or monasteries or
parishes does not belong to the abbots or priests themselves.
If it is necessary to alienate anything, this can be done only
with the signature of the bishop.
12. If a dispute arises between bishops about possessions,
they must, as soon as possible, come to an understanding, or
choose a court of equity. The bishop who refuses this will
be excluded a caritate fratrum (can. 20 of Chalcedon).
13. A judge who compels clergymen to perform public
services, must know that he has not the peace of the Church.
In particular, a bishop, priest, or deacon must not be burdened
with a guardianship, from which even heathen priests were
free.
14. Anything bequeathed to a church or to a bishop by
a valid document must not be withheld by the heirs.
15. Whoever after baptism still eats of idol sacrifices,
unless he reforms on being exhorted, must be excommunicated.
16. If a Christian, in a heathenish manner, takes an oath
on the head of an animal, unless he reforms on being exhorted,
he must be excommunicated.
17. Sacerdotes (bishops and priests) and deacons must
not have the same chamber and the same bed with their
wives, so that they may not be brought into suspicion of
carnal intercourse.
18. If a cleric sells Church property which he has in
usufruct, this is invalid.
19. If anyone has demonstrably presented anything to
the Church in goods or vineyards, even without a written
document, neither he nor his heir must reclaim it from the
Church, under pain of excommunication.
FOURTH SYNOD AT ORLEANS, A.D. 541. 213
20. No layman may arrest, try, or punish a clergyman
without permission of the bishop or other ecclesiastical
superior. If the cleric is required by his ecclesiastical
superior to appear before the secular judge, then he must
give speech and answer there without hesitation. In a trial
between a cleric and a layman the judge must make no ex-
amination except in presence of the priest or archdeacon who is
the superior of the cleric. If two contending parties (a cleric
and a layman) wish to carry their trial before the secular
tribunal, permission to this effect may be given to the cleric.
21. The right of asylum of churches is confirmed anew.
22. No one must marry a girl against the will of her
parents under pain of excommunication.
23. The servants of the Church and of the bishops must
commit no acts of violence nor take anyone prisoner.
24. If a male or female slave take refuge in a church, in
order to get married against the will of their master, this must
be invalid, and such a union must not be defended by the clergy.
25. No cleric may possess Church property under the
protection of a man of power, without the assent of the bishop.
26. If churches are found in the houses of great men,
the clergy who minister there, in case of their not fulfilling
their duty to the Church, must be punished by the arch-
deacon. If however, they are hindered by the great man or
his representative from doing their duty, he must be deprived
of sacred offices until his amendment.
27. Whoever does not observe the ordinances of the
previous Synod of Orleans (c. 10) in regard to incestuous
marriages, must be punished in accordance with the canons
of Epaon (see above, sec. 231).
28. If anyone has intentionally committed a murder,
even if he is freed from punishment by the prince or by the
parents (of the murdered man), must have suitable penance
imposed by the bishop.
29. If a woman has committed adultery with a cleric,
both must be punished by the bishop, and the woman banished
from the city.
30. If a Christian, who is the slave of a Jew, flees to a
church or to any Christian requesting to be bought from
214 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
the Jew, this shall be done, and the loss to the Jew made
good according to just valuation.
31. If a Jew makes a proselyte called Advena1 to be a
Jew, or perverts one who has been converted to Christianity
to the Jewish superstition, or associates with his female
Christian slave (for carnal connection), or perverts to Judaism
one born of Christian parents, under the promise of freedom,
he is to be punished with the loss of (all) his slaves. If one
born of Christian parents has apostatised to Judaism, and
has obtained his freedom on condition of remaining a Jew,
this shall not be valid, for he ought not to remain free, who,
being born of Christian parents, wishes to adhere to Jewish
usages.
32. If descendants of slaves (of the Church), after any
length of time, are met with again at the place to which their
ancestors belonged, they must be demanded back by the
bishop, and remain in those relations which are indicated by
the departed (forefathers). If a layman, from covetousness,
opposes this (retains descendants of Church slaves for himself),
he must be excommunicated. This canon is differently and,
as I think, incorrectly interpreted by Canon Mohler in his
treatise on slavery in the Tubingen Quartalschrift, 1834, p.
597, and in his collected writings, vol. ii. p. 128. Different
again is the translation of Eemi Ceillier (t. xvi. p. 736):
" Les descendans des Esclaves seront obliges au service et aux
charges, sous lesquels ceux dont Us descendent ont obtenu leur
liberte (there is nothing in the text of their having obtained
their liberty), quoiqu' il yait longtemps."
33. If anyone wishes to have a diocese (parish) in his
domain, before all he must provide it sufficiently with landed
property and clergy.
34. If anyone has received from the bishop the usufruct
of landed property for his lifetime, he must not alienate from
the Church that which he has saved out of it, and his relations
must appropriate no part of it.
35. It belongs to the successor to a bishopric to decide
whether the last will of his predecessor, in consequence of
1 Proselytus nude pro advena, hospcs. Of. Du Gauge, Olossar. s.v. t. v. p.
920.
SYNODS AT ANTIOCII AND GAZA, A.D. 542. 215
which a cleric, during the vacancy of the see, has settled in
the enjoyment of Church property, shall be held valid or not.
The ordinary term of prescription has no application here.
36. If a bishop has let out ecclesiastical property to a
strange cleric, it falls back after the death of this cleric to
the Church again.
37. The metropolitans are annually to hold provincial
Synods, that discipline and love may be maintained.
38. All bishops are required to obey these canons.1
SEC. 254. Synods at Antioch and Gaza, A.D. 542.
We met with the last controversy about Origen before
this time, at the beginning of the fifth century, in the history
of S. Chrysostom, and in the account of the Synods held on
his account (see vol. iii. sec. 1 1 5). From this time onwards,
for nearly a century and a half, this controversy rested ; but
there was growing up an ever stronger conviction of the
heretical character of many of the doctrines of the great
Alexandrian. Thus, for example, Pope Leo the Great assumed
(Ep. 35, t. i. p. 881, ed. Ballerini) that Origen had been
justly anathematised on account of his doctrine of the pre-
existence of souls, and the Eoman Synod of A.D. 496 blamed
Eusebius because with Pamphilus he had written a defence of
Origen (see above, sec. 217). Yet, it adds, "many of his
books are to be read."
About the year 520, however, a new controversy broke
out about Origen, in Palestine. Four monks of the new
Laura, Nonnus at their head, were zealous Origenists, and
were therefore expelled by their Abbot Agapetus. His
successor Mennas restored them. On the other hand, S.
Sabas, the superior of the monks of Palestine, personally
made a journey (A.D. 530) to Constantinople, and demanded
of the Emperor Justinian the expulsion of the Origenists.
Before, however, the Emperor took any steps, Sabas died in
531, and Origenism extended still more widely among the
monks of Palestine, particularly through two learned monks,
1 Mansi, t. ix. p. Ill ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1435 sqq.; Sirmond, Coiicti.
Gallix, t. i. p. 260 sqq. ; Bruns, I.e. p. 201 sqq.
216 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
Domitian and Theodore Ascidas. Both immediately gained
the favour of the Emperor to such an extent, that he advanced
them to episcopal chairs about the year 537. Domitian be-
came bishop of Ancyra in Galatia, and Theodore Ascidas,
archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia (as successor of the
well-known Sotericus) ; and both of them stayed a good deal
at the imperial court.1
Supported by these two men, the Origenists obtained the
upper hand in the Lauras, and drove out their opponents, the
so-called Sabaites. Six of these, particularly Stephen and
Timothy, appealed to the Patriarch Ephraim of Antioch, and
he summoned, about the year 542,2 a Synod to deal with this
question at Antioch, as is shown by the principal authority
for the history of the new Origenistic controversy, the priest
Cyril of Scythopolis, in the biography of his teacher S.
Sabas, in the words : " Ephraim promulgated a synodal decree
in which he anathematised the doctrinal propositions of
Origen.3 The Libellus Synodicus also refers to the same
Antiochene Synod with the brief remark, that Ephraim of
Antioch, the archbishop of Syria, had, at a holy Synod,
anathematised 4 the defenders of Origenist doctrines who had
lately arisen in Palestine. All further particulars respecting
the Synod are unknown, as its Acts are lost, and we only know
through Cyril that the Origenists in Palestine, in order to
take revenge on Ephraim, compelled the Patriarch Peter of
Jerusalem to strike the name of his colleague of Antioch from
the diptychs.
About the same time the Synod at Gaza in Palestine took
place (541 or 542),5 occasioned by a matter quite different
and unconnected with Origenism. The Patriarch Paul of
Alexandria had fallen under suspicion, as though, at his
request, the imperial commander at Alexandria, Augustalis
Rhodo, had privately murdered Psoius the deacon and steward
1 Cf. on these men, Walch, Ketzerhist. Bd. vii. S. 651 sq.
2 Cf. the dissertation of Mansi, De Synodis in Origenistas, in t. ix. p. 707 of
his Collect. Condi.
3 Cyrilli Vita S. Sabss gnece et lat. c. 85, in Coteler, Monim. eccl. grseciv, t.
iii. p. 365. Extracted by Walch, Ketzerhist. Bd. vii. S. 626.
4 Mansi, t. ix. p. 23 ; Hardouin, t. v. p. 1534.
5 Mansi, t. ix. p. 706.
THE EDICT OF JUSTINIAN AGAINST ORIGEN. 217
of the Alexandrian Church. On receiving intelligence of this
the Emperor Justinian sent Liberius as his representative to
Egypt, to examine the matter ; and Rhodo declared at the
examination that the Emperor had ordered him to do every-
thing that the bishop required, and that he had murdered
that deacon at the command of the bishop. Bishop Paul
denied that he had given such a command to Rhodo, and it
was proved that it was not the bishop, but a certain Arsenius,
a distinguished resident of Alexandria, who, in connection
with Rhodo, had brought about that murder. Arsenius was
therefore immediately executed, but Rhodo was sent to the
Emperor with the documents of the examination, and was by
him condemned to death. As, however, Bishop Paul of
Alexandria did not seem entirely without blame, the Emperor
Justinian sent the Roman deacon Pelagius, who still remained
at Constantinople as legate (Nuntius), to Antioch, in order
that, in communion with Ephraim, the patriarch of that place,
and other bishops of distinction, they might complete the
deposition of the Alexandrian. Pelagius, Ephraim, Peter,
patriarch of Jerusalem, Hypatius of Ephesus, and a good
many other bishops assembled, as Liberatus relates (Breviar.
c. 23, in Galland. t. xii. p. 158), at Gaza, deprived Paul of the
pallium, deposed him, and ordained Zoilus in his stead.
SEC. 255. The Edict of Justinian against Origen.
On the return from Gaza and Constantinople the Roman
representative Pelagius fell in with monks from Jerusalem
who had with them extracts from the writings of Origen, and
wanted to obtain from the Emperor a sentence of condemna-
tion against him.1 Pelagius and the Patriarch Mennas of
1 So it is related by Liberatus in his Breviar. c. 23. As, however, Cyril of
Scythopolis (I.e. c. 85) relates that the Patriarch Peter of Jerusalem had sent, by
two monks, Sophronius and Gelasius, an accusation against Origen, and had
transmitted the same to the Emperor, so we may rightly assume that Liberatus
and Cyril here relate the same fact. Only Walch (Ketzerhist. Bd. vii. S. 668 sq.
Anm. 2) doubts it. This accusation against Origen, drawn up by Sophronius
and Gelasius, must not be confounded with one, almost a decade later, which pro-
ceeded also from Palestinian monks, Conon, Eulogius, etc. (cf. Mansi, t. ix. p.
707). Evagrius in his Church History, iv. 38, has occasioned great confusion by
confounding these two.
218 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
Constantinople upheld them in this matter, and Justinian
promulgated the edict against Origen, which afterwards became
so famous.1 This copious theological document was first
published by Baronius in Latin (ad ann. 538, n. 34 sqq.).
Later on Lupus made the Greek text known, and it was
embodied in the Acts of the fifth (Ecumenical Synod.2 That
copy of the edict which has come to us was addressed to the
Patriarch Mennas of Constantinople, and the Emperor declares
in it, at the very beginning, that it was his highest care to
preserve the faith pure and the Church in peace. But, alas !
he had been forced to learn that some ventured to defend the
errors of Origen, which were similar to the heathen, Arian, and
Manichsean doctrines. One who followed such a man as
Origen could scarcely be still called a Christian, for he,
blaspheming the Holy Trinity, had maintained that " the
Father is greater than the Son, and the Son greater than the
Holy Ghost : That the Son could not behold the Father, nor
the Spirit the Son : That the Son and the Spirit are creatures,
and that the Son is related to the Father as we to the Son."
The Emperor further adduces the other leading errors of
Origen (pre-existence, apokatastasis, plurality of worlds, etc.),
and opposes to them a very thorough refutation with the
insertion of many patristic passages from Gregory of
Nazianzus, and of Nyssa, Chrysostom, Peter of Alexandria,
Athanasius, Basil, Cyril of Alexandria, etc., who had all
spoken decidedly in the rejection of Origen's teaching. As,
the Emperor proceeded, he was now desirous of removing all
offence from the Church, he, following the Holy Scriptures,
and the Fathers who had repudiated Origen, had addressed
this letter to His Holiness (Mennas), advising him to hold a
Synod of the bishops present in Constantinople and the
presidents of convents (o-ui>o8o? eVS^/iouo-a), and procure in
writing an anathema on Origen and his errors, and
particularly on those propositions of his appended to the
imperial decree.
Mennas was requested straightway to send copies of the
Acts of this Synod to all other bishops and heads of
1 Liberat. Brcviar. c. 23, I.e.
• Mansi, t. ix. pp. 487-534 : Hardouin, t. Hi. pp. 243-282.
THE EDICT OF JUSTINIAN AGAINST ORIGEN. 219
monasteries, so that they too might subscribe the anathema
on Origen and his errors. In the future, too, no one was to
be ordained bishop or head of a monastery unless to the
customary anathema on the heretics Sabellius, Arius, Apol-
linaris, Nestorius, Eutyches, Dioscurus, Timothy vElurus, Peter
Mongus, Anthimus of Trapezont (also of Constantinople), Theo-
dosius of Alexandria, Peter of Antioch, Peter of Apamea, and
Severus of Antioch, he should add also an anathema on Origen.
The Emperor stated that he had written the same to the
Patriarch Vigilius, the Pope of Old Eome, as well as to the
other holy patriarchs — namely, of Alexandria, Theophilus (of
Antioch), and of Jerusalem, that they might also take pre-
cautions in this matter. So that at last all might see that
the writings of Origen were heretical, he had appended only a
few of his blasphemies in the appendix. These are twenty-
four propositions from his book Trepl ap^atv, particularly from
the first and fourth. This being so, the Emperor concludes,
it was reasonable that Origen should be anathematised, and
in the following ten propositions:1 —
1. Whoever says or thinks that human souls pre-existed, i.e.
that they had previously been spirits and holy powers, but that,
satiated with the vision of God, they had turned to evil, and in
this way the divine love in them had grown cold (aTrotyityeia-as),
and they had therefore become souls (^i^a?), and had been
condemned to punishment in bodies, shall be anathema.
2. If anyone says or thinks that the soul of the Lord
pre-existed and was united with God the Word before the
Incarnation and Conception of the Virgin, let him be anathema.
3. If anyone says or thinks that the body of our Lord
Jesus Christ was first formed in the womb of the holy Virgin,
and that afterwards there was united with it God the Word
and the pre-existing soul, let him be anathema.
4. If anyone says or thinks that the Word of God
became like to all heavenly orders, so that for the cherubim
He was a cherub, for the seraphim a seraph ; in short, like
all superior powers, let him be anathema.
1 Nicephorus Callisti (Hist. EccL xvii. 27) explains these erroneously as
canons of the fifth (Ecumenical Synod, so that several have supposed that the
fifth (Ecumenical Synod repeated these auathcmatisms of Justinian.
220 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
5. If anyone says or thinks that, at the resurrection,
human bodies will rise in spherical form and unlike our
present form, let him be anathema.
6. If anyone says that the heaven, the sun, the
moon, the stars, and the waters that are above the
heavens, have souls, and are reasonable beings,1 let him be
anathema.
7. If anyone says or thinks that Christ the Lord in a
future time will be crucified for demons as He was for men,
let him be anathema.
8. If anyone says or thinks that the power of God is
limited, and that HE created as much as HE was able to
compass, let him be anathema.
9. If anyone says or thinks that the punishment of
demons and of impious men is only temporary, and will one
day have an end, and that a restoration (ciTro/cao-Tao-t?) will
take place, let him be anathema.
10. Anathema to Origen and to everyone who teaches
and maintains the like doctrine.
Whether the Emperor Justinian himself drew up this
edict, or the papal legate Pelagius and the Patriarch Mennas
were the real authors, as Baronius (ad ann. 538, n. 32)
supposed, may reasonably remain undecided. The question
of ecclesiastical authority, as to whether the Emperor was
entitled or not to issue an edict of this kind, belongs to
another department. It seems to me that we have here before
us one of those many and great, even if well-meant, Byzan-
tine encroachments, which does not disappear even when we
assume that the Emperor acted in agreement with Mennas
and Pelagius. The promulgation of this decree falls after the
Synod of Gaza, probably in the year 543, as the Ballerini, in
their appendices to the Works of Cardinal Noris, made
probable ; 2 whilst Baronius thought we should decide for the
year 538, Gamier for 539 or 540.
1 Paganiuus Gaudentius, as Hardouin, Maiisi, and others have already
remarked, has x»y<*aj instead of £AI*«J 1vva,p.ii{. Cf. below, sec. 257, the
third anathematism on Origen.
2 Defensio dissertationis Norisianse de Synodo V. adversus dissertationetu
Palris Garncrii, in Noris, Opp. ed. lialler. t. iv. p. 990.
THE FIFTEEN ANATHEMATISMS ON ORIGEN. 221
SEC. 256. Synod at Constantinople on account of Origen,
A.D. 543.
Undoubtedly the Patriarch Mennas did not fail to hold
without delay the vvvo&os ev&rjfjiovo-a which the Emperor had
desired, probably in the same year, 543, and Justinian
probably addressed to this assembly that letter, still extant,
in which he derives the errors of the Palestinian monks from
Pythagoras, Plato, and Origen, and briefly sums them up.
On account of these dangerous errors and follies, the
assembled Fathers were requested, after careful weighing of
the appended exposition (probably identical with the imperial
letter to Mennas), to anathematise all those propositions, and
also Origen and all who agreed with him.1
SEC. 257. The Fifteen Anathematisms on Origen.
To this Constantinopolitan Synod of the year 543, with-
out doubt, belong also the fifteen celebrated anathematisms on
the same number of propositions of Origen, discovered,
towards the end of the seventeenth century, by the cele-
brated librarian of Vienna, Peter Lambeck, among the
ancient manuscripts of the library, and which had become
incorporated in all the collections of Councils.2
To these fifteen anathematisms in the Vienna Codex these
words were prefixed: T&v ayt&v p%e (= 165) Trarepcov T?;?
ev K.cov<TTavTivov7rai\€i aylas Tre/iTTTT;? avvoSov Kavovef. In
consequence, at first there was no hesitation in assigning them
to the fifth (Ecumenical Synod, especially as several of the
ancients declared that the latter did actually anathematise
Origen. Basing upon this, even in later times, the brothers
Ballerini, in particular, have ascribed the fifteen anathema-
tisms to the fifth (Ecumenical Council, whilst Cave (Historia
Litteraria, ad ann. 541, p. 363, ed. Genev. 1705), Dupin
i Mansi, t. ix. pp. 534-538 ; Hardouin, t. iii. p. 282 sq. The Ballerini and
others thought that the Emperor had addressed this letter first to the fifth
(Ecumenical Synod. They would not allow the name of a Synod to the
assembly under Mennas. Norisii Opp. ed. Bailer, t. iv. p. 994.
3 Hardouin, t. iii. p. 283 sqq. ; Mansi, t. ix. p. 395 sqq.
222 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
(Nouvelk BMiotheque, t. v. p. 204, ed. Mons, 1G91),
Walch (Ketzerhist. Bd. vii. S. 661 ff., Bd. viii. S. 281 ff.),
Dollinger (Lehrbuch der Kirchengesch. L 156, 158) assign
them to the earlier Constantinopolitan Synod under Mennas
(A.D. 543). Full certainty in this matter can no longer be
attained ; but we believe that we come near the truth in the
following remarks : —
(a) It is true that a series of ancient writers suppose that
the fifth (Ecumenical Council also anathematised Origen ;
but, as we shall see later on, in the history of that Council,
there is only this much credible in the statement, that, in
their eleventh anathematism, they repudiated Origen among
others ; but that they dealt in any detailed manner with
Origen, and drew up (fifteen) special propositions against him,
is most probably incorrect.
(&) Whoever wishes to maintain this, can appeal only to
the superscription of the codex at Vienna and to Evagrius
(Hist. Ecd. iv. 38). That this superscription is of much
value no one will maintain ; but Evagrius also in this case is
a witness of no importance. He interchanges the earlier
accusations against Origen, drawn up by Sophronius and
Gelasius, with the later, presented by Eulogius, Conon, etc.
(cf. above, sec. 255, note 1); and is therefore constrained to
remove the Synod which was occasioned by the earlier
accusation to a later period (the (rwoSos evSvjpovffa of
A.D. 543). He therefore identified it with the fifth
CEcumenical Council. Of the latter he then says : " They
appended to their letter to the Emperor articles containing
the heresies of the Origenists." He then gives one of these
articles, the fifth, verbally, as follows : " Theodore Ascidas of
Cappadocia maintained that, as the apostles and martyrs
already do such miracles, and enjoy such honour, what could
they desire for an apocatastasis, but to be like Christ Himself
at the apocatastasis ? "
This proposition we shall seek in vain among the fifteen
in question. Indeed there is not one like it among them,
and it is therefore clear that the passage in Evagrius contains
no proof for our fifteen propositions, particularly as no
mention there is made of fifteen. How it is, in other respects,
THE FIFTEEN ANATHEMATISMS ON ORIGEN. 223
important for us, we shall see further on. Evagrius further
tells us of the condemnation of Origen, and of his propositions
in connection with the letter of the Emperor Justinian to
Mennas, Vigilius, and the other patriarchs, on which account
Valesius even in his time, in his notes to this passage in
Evagrius, gave expression to the supposition that he had con-
founded the decrees of the Synod of Constantinople under
Mennas (A.D. 543, or as Valesius thought, 538) with those of
the fifth (Ecumenical Synod ; and we agree with him in this
the rather that other ancient documents, e.g. the minutes of
the Constantinopolitan Synod of A.D. 536, were erroneously
appended to the Acts of the fifth (Ecumenical Synod. Cf.
Du Pin, Ic.
(c) We certainly possess no strong and decisive proof that
the fifteen anathematisms belong to the Constantinopolitan
Synod of the year 543 ; but some probable grounds for the
opinion may be adduced —
a. It is, for example, beyond doubt, and attested1 by
Liberatus and Secundus, two contemporaries, that the edict of
the Empeor Justinian to Mennas of Constantinople, Vigilius
of Home, Zoilus of Alexandria, Ephraim of Antioch, and
Peter of Jerusalem, was subscribed by these patriarchs, and
specially by the bishops assembled at Constantinople with
Mennas, i.e. at the <rvvo§os ev§r)nov<ra demanded by the
Emperor, and at the same time anathema was pronounced
upon Origen and his propositions. Facundus, in par-
ticular, says that the condemnation of Origen was re-
peated (iterata), i.e. as at Constantinople, so at Home,
Alexandria, etc.2
/9. Whilst thus demonstrably and quite in accordance with
the nature of the case, anathematisms were pronounced upon
Origen at the <rwo8o9 evSrjpovcra called on his account, it is
not absolutely certain that, at the fifth Synod also, there
were only transactions of a general kind on the subject of
Origen. Of this there is no trace in the Acts of the Synod,
except in a single passage (canon 11, sess. iv., see below),
1 Liberat. Ereviar. c. 23, I.e. ; Facundus, Defensio trium capitum, lib. i. c. 2,
in Galland. Biblioth. PP. t. xii. p. 667.
1 Liberat. Breviar. c. 23 ; Facundus, Defensio trium capitum, lib. i. c. 2.
224 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
and this is critically suspicious.1 In this connection it is
very significant that Popes Vigilius and Pelagius, who lived
at that very time, and Gregory the Great, who is only a little
later, speak at length of the decrees of the fifth (Ecumenical
Synod, but make not the least reference to a decree of that
Synod against Origen.2
7. It is certainly most improbable that the fifth CEcumenical
Council drew up fifteen anathematisms against Origen, since
the celebrated Origenist, Theodore Ascidas, was not only
present at this Council, but was of the greatest influence
there, and, in fact, was the real originator of it.
S. When, further, we compare the fifteen anathematisms
against Origen with those which are found at the close of
the imperial letter to Mennas and the other patriarchs, and
which were recommended for acceptance, there is a visible
similarity between them ; and the fifteen seem to be nothing
else than a more complete copy of the ten anathematisms
of the Emperor, adopted by the a-vvo&os ev^rj^ovaa (of the
year 543).
€. Certainly, if we took for granted that the <7v*>o8o<? evBij-
fiova-a at Constantinople had done nothing further than give a
simple subscription of the imperial edict, and of the anathe-
matisms laid before them, one could scarcely understand why
they had drawn up the fifteen now in question. But the
Synod went more fully into the matter, as was its duty, and
censured the heresies of Origen in a more exact and complete
manner. If this is in itself probable, it is also testified by
Evagrius, in the passage already frequently referred to, where
we find several important remarks on our Synod hitherto
little regarded, that they first declared their rejection of
Origen and his adherents by acclamation, and, moreover, sent
a synodal letter to the Emperor, of which Evagrius gives us
three fragments. The first contains, by way of introduction,
the courteous address to the Emperor : " As thou dost possess
1 Of. Walch, Ketzergesch. Bd. viii. S. 284 f.
2 Of. the writings on the subject of the Popes, in Mansi, t. ix. p. 58 sqq.,
and p. 61 sqq. , p. 433 sqq. ; and Gregory the Great, Ep. ad Joann. Constantinop.
lib. i. c. 25, towards the end, in Migne, ed. Opp. S. Gregor. M. t. iii. p. 478.
Cf. Walch, Ketzerhist. Bd. viii. S. 288 f. S. 93, 95, and 106. Even Valesius,
in his notes to Evagrius, made partial reference to this point.
THE FIFTEEN ANATHEMATISMS ON OBIGEX. 225
a participation in the soul of the heavenly eagle, most
Christian Emperor." The second runs : " We thus flee, yea
we flee from these doctrines (of Origen) ; for we know not
any strange voice, and we have bound him, as a thief and a
robber, with the bonds of anathema, and have cast him out of
the sanctuary." Finally, the third fragment says : " The
contents of that which we have done, thou wilt learn from
our written communication."
It can scarcely be doubted that this synodal letter, here
given by Evagrius, had the fifteen anathematisms, as the
principal part of the synodal decrees, connected with it or
appended to it. Evagrius, too, speaks of an appendix, which
contained the errors of the Origenists, and which communicates
to us the heretical utterance of Theodore Ascidas, with which
we are already acquainted, as fifth proposition. That this was
not found among the fifteen anathematisms has already been
remarked. But how do we solve the apparent difficulty ?
The fifth proposition in question from Theodore Ascidas is,
properly considered, no anathematism, and we may with prob-
ability assume that, as the imperial edict to Mennas (and
the Synod) consisted of three parts : the letter proper,
twenty-four passages from Origen, and ten anathematisms, in
like manner the answer of the Synod would be in three parts :
(1) the synodal letter ; (2) quotations from writings and
utterances of Origen and the Origenists (among them Ascidas,
whom the Palestinian monks had specially denounced, and to
whom the Synod had every reason for here referring, in order
to weaken his influence at Court), and (3) anathematisms. —
By this assumption, and the explanations already given, we
think we have removed the difficulties, and brought order
into the whole subject. The fifteen celebrated anathematisms
are as follows : —
1. If anyone maintains the legendary pre-existence of
souls and the fanciful apocastasis (restitution of all things),
let him be anathema.
2. If anyone says that the rational creation (Trapayoryij)
has arisen from merely incorporeal and immaterial spirits
(voai) without number and name, so that an identity of all
has come about by the likeness of being, power, and energy,
iv. 15
226 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
as by their (like) unity with the Word of God, and (their
like) knowledge of Him ; but that they had become satiated
with the vision of God, and had turned to that which was
worse, everyone according to the nature of his inclination, and
had assumed bodies, finer or grosser, and received names, whilst,
among these powers there was a difference both of names and
of bodies ; so that some would be and be named cherubim,
some seraphim, principalities, powers, dominions, and thrones,
and angels, and however many heavenly orders there may
be, — let him be anathema.
3. If anyone says that the sun, the moon, and the stars
belong to that unity of rational beings, and through their
turning to the worse have become what they are, let him be
anathema.
4. If anyone says that spiritual beings, in whom divine
love grows cold, are covered in grosser bodies like ours
and called men, whilst others who reached the summit of
evil had received cold and dark bodies, and are called now
demons and evil spirits, let him be anathema.
5. If anyone says that, as of angels and archangels souls
are made, and from souls demons and men, so from men again
angels and demons come; and every class of the heavenly
powers consists either altogether of that which is above or that
which is below, or from both together, — let him be anathema.
6. If anyone maintains that there are two kinds of
demons, the one consisting of human souls, the other of
higher, but so deeply fallen spirits, and that of the whole
number of rational beings only one Spirit remained unaltered
in the divine love and vision, and that this one became Christ,
and King of all rational beings, and created all bodily things,
the heaven and the earth, and whatever is between them ; l
and whoever says that the world has come into existence,
since it has elements in itself which are older than itself, and
which consist for themselves, — namely, the dry, the moist, the
1 napayiryiiv can in no way be translated, as it has hitherto been, by
prsetergressus or ' ' passed over " : " That Christ has gone over to all corporeity
on heaven and earth," which gives no sense. llapeiyui means here, like
tfo,fa.yuyrt in the second anathematism, creare, producere, "create," "bring
into existence." Suicer, in his Thesaurus, completely overlooked this. Of.
Stephani, s.w. *apayv and vafKyuyYi.
THE FIFTEEN ANATHEMATISMS ON ORIGEN. 227
warm, and the cold, and the pattern (iSeav) according to
which it (the world) is made, — and that not all the holy and
consubstantial Trinity, but the vovs S^/Luotyxyo?, who is older
than the world, and gave it its being, has constituted it by
making it become (i.e. made it out of those elements), — let
him be anathema.
7. If anyone says that Christ — of whom it is said that
HE appeared in the form of God, and before all times was
united with God the Word, and was in these last days
humbled to our humanity — did, as they say, compassionate
the manifold ruin of that unity of Spirits (to which He also
belonged), and in order to bring them back, passed through all
orders, took different bodies and received different names,
became all to all, among angels an angel, among powers a
power, received among the different orders of rational beings
a corresponding form, then received flesh and blood like us,
and became a man for men, — whoever says this, and does not
confess that God the Word humbled Himself and became
man, let him be anathema.
8. If anyone does not confess that God the Word, who is
of one substance with the Father and the Holy Ghost, and
was incarnate and made man — one of the Trinity — is Christ
in the proper sense, but (maintains) that HE (the Word) was
named Christ only by abuse (/caTa^/D^o-rt/cw?) on account of
the Nous (created Spirit) which humbled itself ; that this was
united (a-vvdirra)) with God the Word and is Christ in the
proper sense ; and that the Word, on account of this union
with this Novs is called Christ, and that HE, the Nous, for
that reason, is called God, — whoever maintains this, let him
be anathema.
9. If anyone maintains that it was not the Word of God
made flesh by assumption of a flesh animated by the tyvxn
\&yiKT) and voepd, who went down into Hades and again
returned into heaven, but says that this was done by the so-
called (by them) Nou9, of whom they impiously assert that
HE is Christ in the proper sense, and has become so through
knowledge of the Unit, — let him be anathema.
10. If anyone maintains that the body of the Lord, after
the resurrection, is ethereal and spherical in form, and that
228 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
the other resurrection bodies will be so also, and that after
Christ laid aside His true body — and so with all other men
— the corporal nature passes into nothing, let him be
anathema.
11. If anyone says that the future judgment brings the
annihilation of the body, and that the end of the story is
the immaterial </>u<rt9, and that in future there will be nothing
material, but only mere spirit, let him be anathema.
1 2. If anyone says that the heavenly powers and all men
and the devil and evil spirits unite themselves with the Word
of God in precisely the same manner as does that Nous whom
they call Christ, and who bears the form of God, and, as they
say, humbled Himself ; and whoever maintains that the
kingdom of Christ will have an end, — let him be anathema.
13. If anyone says that Christ (that Nous} is not at all
different from the other rational beings, and that neither in
substance, nor in respect of knowledge, nor in power and
energy, exceeds all others, but that all will stand at the right
hand of God, like the so-called (by them) Christ, let him
be anathema.
14. If anyone maintains that one day all rational beings
will again form a unit, when the individuals and the numbers
are removed with the bodies ; and that the destruction of the
worlds and the laying aside of the bodies will follow upon
the knowledge of rational things, and that the abandonment
of names and an identity of knowledge and person will
result ; further, at the fabled apocatastasis only spirits alone
will remain, as it was in the feigned pre-existence, — let him
be anathema.
15. If anyone says that the life of spirits will then be
like the earlier life when they had not yet descended and
fallen, so that the beginning and the end will be like each
other, and the end the measure for the beginning, let him
be anathema.1
1 Mansi, t. ix. p. 395 sqq. ; Hardouin, t. iii. p. 283 sqq.
BOOK XIV.
THE CONTROVERSY OF THE THREE CHAPTERS AND THE
FIFTH OZCUMENICAL SYNOD.1
CHAPTER I.
EVENTS PRECEDING THE OPENING OF THE FIFTH SYNOD.
SEC. 258. Origin of the Controversy of the Three Chapters.
IN order to divert the Emperor Justinian and also, as
Evagrius adds (iv. 37), the theologians of that period from
the persecution of the Origenists, Theodore Ascidas, arch-
bishop of Csesarea in Cappadocia, of whom we have already
heard, stirred up the controversy of the three chapters.
1 Of the copious literature on the controversy of the three chapters and
the fifth (Ecumenical Synod, the following treatises deserve special mention :
(1) The comprehensive Dissertatio Historica de Syiiodo quinta of the Augustinian
and Cardinal Henry Noris, published first at Padua, A.D. 1673, in connection
with his celebrated Historia Pelagiana, and afterwards printed repeatedly, best
in the first volume of the edition by the Ballerini of the collected works of
Cardinal Noris, Verona 1729, pp. 550-820. There is a certain connection
between the Dissertatio and the Historia Pelagiana. The Augustinian Noris
wanted to show his autipelagian zeal, not only in the Historia Pelagiana, but it
concerned him greatly to prove that the real originator of Pelagianism, Origen,
had been anathematised by the fifth (Ecumenical Synod. The Jesuit Peter
Halloix had denied this in his work, Origines defensus, sive Origenis Adamantii
Preab., amatoris Jesu, vita, virtutes, documenta, item veritatis super ejus vita,
doctrina, statu, exacta disquisitio, ad sanctissimum D. N. Papam Innocentium X.
(Liege in fol. 1648) ; and in his defence had severely attacked the fifth
(Ecumenical Synod. To him Noris opposed his great and most learned treatise,
in order to defend the credit of the Synod, to prove its confirmation by several
Popes, to put in a clear light many particulars, especially chronological points in
regard to the controversy of the three chapters ; chiefly, however, to prove that
230 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
Although a leader of the Origenists at that time, yet in order
that he might not lose his position and influence at Court,
where he resided almost continually, he had assented to the
rejection of Origen ; but self-preservation now bid him give a
different direction to the Emperor's passion for dogmatising.
When Justinian was occupied with the notion of drawing up
an extensive document with the view of reuniting the
Acephali, a sect of the Monophysites, to the Church (see
vol. iii. sec. 208), Ascidas, together with some friends,
represented to him that there was a much shorter and surer
way to that end, and it might spare him the trouble of a
lengthy treatise, if he would only pronounce an anathema on
Theodore of Mopsuestia and his writings, on the letter of
Bishop Ibas of Edessa to the Persian Maris, and, finally, on
those writings of Theodoret which had been put forth in
Origen was twice anathematised by the fifth Oecumenical Synod, the first time
alone, before those eight sessions in which the matter of the three chapters was
treated, the Acts of which alone are still extant ; the second time, after those
eight sessions, and this time in connection with two of his principal adherents,
Didymus the Blind and the deacon Evagrius, a friend of Basil the Great and
Gregory Nazianzen. (2) In opposition to Noris, the Jesuit John Gamier wrote
his Dissertatio de V. Synodo, and appended it to his edition of the Chronicon
Liberati, Paris 1675, 8vo (reprinted in the twelfth volume of Gallandi, Bill.
Patrum, p. 163 sqq.). He afterwards revised this treatise once more, and
inserted it with many other dissertations in his edition of the works of
Theodoret, in the Actuarium Operum Tlieodoreti, published after his death by
Hardouiu, reprinted in the fifth volume of Schulze's edition of the works of
Theodoret. Much in this treatise of Garnier's is very acute, something also
correct, but many statements are rash, arbitrary, and inaccurate, and on the
whole it is seen to be written in a spirit of opposition to Noris. (3) In defence
of Noris against Gamier came forth the learned priests of Verona, the two
brothers Ballerini, countrymen of Noris, in a Defensio dissertationis Norisiante
de Synodo V. adversus dissertationem Patris Garnerii, in the fourth volume of
their edition of the works of Cardinal Noris, pp. 985-1050. They also
elucidated the history of the controversy of the three chapters in the third book
of their Observationes to the works of Noris (in the fourth volume of the works
of Cardinal Noris, p. 945 sqq.), and in their treatise, De Patriarchatus Aqui-
leiensis origine (ibid. p. 1051 sqq.). With great expansion, but also with tasteless
discursiveness, and breaking up the matter, Walch treated the controversy of
the three chapters in the eighth volume of his History of Heresies, S. 4-468.
(5) Noel Alexander gave an extract from Noris in the dissertations on the sixth
century in his Historia Ecclesiastica, t. v. pp. 436-454, ed. Venet. 1778, fol.
(6) To this belongs also the later monograph of Dr. Punkes (afterwards pro-
fessor at the archiepiscopal seminary at Freising), Papst Vigilius und der
Dreicapitelstreit, Miinchen 1865.
ORIGIN OF THE CONTROVERSY OF THE THREE CHAPTERS. 231
defence of Nestorius and against Cyril and the Synod of
Ephesus.1 This suggestion, which, as Liberatus indicates
(I.e.), was supported by the Empress Theodora, who had
Monophysite tendencies, was not without favouring circum-
stances, for, in fact, the Severians had declared, in the religious
conference, A.D. 533 (see vol. iii. sec. 208, and above, sec.
246), that one of the reasons why they could not accept the
Council of Chalcedon was that Ibas and Theodoret were there
declared to be orthodox.2 The Emperor entered into -the
proposal and issued an edict, in which he pronounced the
threefold anathema required, and thus provoked the con-
troversy of the three chapters.
By /ce<f>d\aia, Capitula, were generally understood some
propositions drawn up in the form of anathematisms, which
threatened with excommunication everyone who maintained
this or that. Thus the twelve well-known anathematisms of
Cyril were constantly entitled his twelve ice^dXaia. Similar
teefaiXaia were also contained in the edict which the Emperor
Justinian now issued. We see this partly from the few frag-
ments of it still extant (see below in this section), and also
from a quite similar later edict, the o/zoXtxyta Trio-Tews 'lova-Tt,-
avov avrofcpdropos Kara rpiwv K€<f>a\ai(i)v (see below). In
the latter he says : " He wishes to draw up only a few
Ke<j>d\aia in the interest of the orthodox faith," and among
these the most interesting are /ce</>a\cua 12 to 14, as follows :
" Whoever defends Theodore of Mopsuestia ... let him be
anathema " ; " Whoever defends certain writings of Theodore
... let him be anathema " ; and " Whoever defends the
impious letter written by Ibas . . . let him be anathema."
Three K€(f>d\at,a quite similar to these seem to have been
contained in the first edict of the Emperor (on this subject),
which is now lost ; and we see from this in what sense the
expression " rpia K€(j>d\aia," or " three chapters," was originally
to be understood. To be exact, we should have to say :
" Whoever obeys the imperial edict, subscribes the rpia
1 This is related by the contemporary Liberatus, archdeacon of Carthage,
in his Breviarium causes, Nestorianorum et Eutyckianorum, c. 24 ; in Galland.
Biblioth. Patrum, t. xii. p. 160 ; also in Mansi, t. ix. p. 699.
- Mansi, t. viii. p. 829 ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 1170.
232 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
tcetpaXaia ; whoever does not, rejects them " ; but the expres-
sion did not attain to this form ; but rather by the rpLa
K€<f>d\aia quite generally, not those three propositions, but the
persons and writings designated in them ; and when we meet
with the expression rpia /ce<f)d\aia, or tria capitula, in the
later imperial edicts, in the minutes of the fifth (Ecumenical
Synod, in papal and other letters, we understand by this : (1)
the person and writings of Theodore of Mopsuestia ; (2) the
writings of Theodoret for Nestorius and against Cyril and
the Synod of Ephesus; and (3) the letter of Ibas to the
Persian Maris. The fifth (Ecumenical Synod, in its closing
sentence, thus declares : " Prsedicta igitur tria capitula an-
athematisamus, id est, Theodorum impium Mopsuestenum
cum nefandis ejus conscriptis, et quse impie Theodoritus con-
scripsit, et impiam epistolam, quse dicitur Ibse." l To a similar
effect the Emperor Justinian expresses himself in that decree
which was read at the first session of the fifth Council : " That
he had consulted the bishops respecting the impia tria
capitula, and that these impia tria capitula were nevertheless
by many defended." 2 In the letter of Pope Vigilius to
Bishop Eutychius of Constantinople, in which he gave his
approval to the fifth (Ecumenical Council, we read : ra irpo-
etprjfjieva roivvv rpla acre^fj K€<f)a\aia avadefjutri^ofiev fcal
KaraKpivofj,€v, rovreo-Ti TOV a<re/3r) deoBwpov, K.T.\.S Facundus,
bishop of Hermiane, in Africa, a contemporary of these events
and a zealous opponent of the imperial edict, named his
extensive treatise in defence of Theodore, etc., JAbri orii. pro
defensione trium capitulorum;* and Liberatus (I.e.) relates that
the Emperor had demanded the damnatio trium capitulorum.
Thus by tria capitula are generally understood, not the three
propositions of the imperial edict, but the well-known three
points, Theodore and his writings, some writings of Theodoret,
and the letter of Ibas. Only in the 6p,o\oyla of the Emperor,
and probably in his first edict, was the original meaning of
the /ce<f)d\aia maintained. In the present superscription,
1 Mansi, t. ix. p. 376 ; Hardouin, t. iii. p. 194.
2 Mansi, I.e. p. 181 ; Hardouin, I.e. p. 56 sq.
3 Mansi, I.e. p. 417 ; Hardouin, I.e. p. 216.
4 Galland. Biblioth. Patrum, t. xi. p. 665 sqq.
ORIGIN OF THE CONTROVERSY OF THE THREE CHAPTERS. 233
probably not original, of the work of Facundus,1 as in the
Chronicle of S. Isidore of Seville, we meet with the expres-
sion, tria Chalcedonensis concilii capitula;2 and this has been
translated by several scholars as " three decrees of the Council
of Chalcedon " ; others, with greater probability, " three ques-
tions which were discussed in that Synod."3 But, in the
first place, whilst at Chalcedon there were discussions on Ibas
and Theodoret, there were none respecting Theodore of Mop-
suestia, nor was any decree on him put forth. Besides, no
decrees of Chalcedon were ever put forth with the predicate
impia capitula, or acre/3?} icefyaXaia. That this statement and
translation is not admissible is finally shown by this, that the
Emperor Justinian, Pope Vigilius, and all who rejected the
three chapters, expressly declared that they had not in
the least impugned the decrees of Chalcedon.
How it was, however, that these three chapters could
become the subject of a violent controversy, will be under-
stood when we consider more closely the three men around
whose persons or writings the controversy was carried on.
We have already seen (vol. iii. sec. 127) that Bishop Theodore
of Mopsuestia, formerly a priest at Antioch, was the head of
that Syrian theological school which, in opposition to Apollin-
arianism, endeavoured to hold fast, in a new way, the truth
of each of the two natures of Christ. The ecclesiastical term
" Incarnation of God " appeared to him dangerous, as though
it taught a change of God the Word into a man ; and for
this reason he wished to recognise only an indwelling or
evoiKT)<ri<; of the Word in a man, and thereby divided the one
Christ into two, into the man and the dwelling in Him, or,
into the temple and the God who dwelt in it. Thus Theodore
of Mopsuestia was the real father of that heresy which
received its name from one of his disciples, Nestorius. Theo-
dore had died before the Nestorian controversy broke out
(A.D. 428),* and this is undoubtedly the reason why the third
1 Cf. Walch, Ketzerhiat. Bd. viii. S. 438.
2 Cf. Noris, De Synodo, v. t. 1, Opp. ed. Bailer, p. 690.
3 Cf. Ernesti, Neue theolog. Bibliothek, Bd. vii. S. 737.
4 Not in the year 427. Cf. Ballerini, Defensio dissertationis Norisicuue, c. 6,
in Noris, Opp. cd. Bailer, iv. 1025.
234 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
(Ecumenical Synod at Ephesus condemned Nestorius, and made
no reference to Theodore of Mopsuestia (see voL iii. sec. 134).
In the same way his writings were spared, when the Emperor
Theodosius n. had those of Nestorius burnt.1 Taking advantage
of this circumstance, the confessed and secret Nestorians
hastened to circulate the books of Theodore and those of
the still earlier Diodorus of Tarsus, his master, and to translate
them into Syriac, Armenian, and Persian. The principal seat
of this movement was Edessa in Mesopotamia, in consequence
of which, in the year 435, the bishop of this city, Nabulas,
felt himself obliged to point out Theodore of Mopsuestia
publicly as the real father of the Nestorian heresy, and to
draw the attention of all his colleagues to this fact. Several
of these were of a different view, and ascribed the action of
Nabulas to personal resentment. The great Cyril of Alex-
andria, on the contrary, and the celebrated Proclus of Con-
stantinople, recognised the correctness of the contention of
Nabulas, and issued memorials warning against the errors of
the Mopsuestian. They demanded an anathema to be pro-
nounced upon him ; and Cyril turned to the Emperor for
this purpose.
Along with these orthodox opponents of Theodore, how-
ever, there appeared also, at the same time, monks and
Armenians of Monophysite tendencies as accusers, and pointed
out many orthodox statements of his as heresies. This
caused Cyril and Proclus on the other side to defend the
Mopsuestian, and to abstain from the demand for an anathema.
Theodosius n. also issued an edict to the effect that the peace
of the Church should be maintained, and that it should not
be allowed that men who had died in the communion of the
Catholic Church should be blackened (see vol. iii sec. 160).
Thus, for the time, the controversy was kept under, but not
settled, and was therefore sure to break out again on the first
opportunity. It was natural that the Monophysites should
come forward from the beginning as violent opponents of the
1 See above, vol. iii. sec. 160. In the original text of the imperial decree
only the books of Nestorius are condemned to the fire, but in the text which is
given among the Acts of the fifth (Ecumenical Synod the writings of Theodore
have the same punishment inflicted upon them.
ORIGIN OF THE CONTROVERSY OF THE THREE CHAPTERS. 235
Nestorian Theodore. Even Eutyches had accused him and
Diodorus of Tarsus of heresy (see vol. iii. sec. 171), whilst the
Nestorians honoured the Mopsuestian as one of the greatest
teachers, and do so to this day. The judgments of the
orthodox theologians were doubtful On the one side, they
could not deny the relationship between Theodore and Nestor-
iauism ; on the other hand, however, they would not go
against what had been done by Cyril and the Emperor
Theodosius IL, and the fourth (Ecumenical Synod of Chalce-
don let it pass, without any remark in the way of correction,
when, at their tenth session, that passage from the letter of
Ibas was read, in which he said : " The tyrant of Edessa
(Bishop Nabulas), under the pretext of religion, has perse-
cuted even the dead, e.g. the late Theodore (of Mopsuestia),
this herald of the truth and teacher of the Church," and so
forth (see sec. 1 9 6 in vol. iii.). When the Emperor Justinian,
a hundred years afterwards, demanded an anathema upon the
person and writings of Theodore, the one party might regard
this as well founded, whilst the other could think it was
wrong at so late a period to anathematise a bishop who had
died in Church communion more than a hundred years ago ;
besides that, the reputation of the Council of Chalcedon must
in that way suffer.
The second man about whom the controversy of the
three chapters turned was Theodoret, the learned bishop of
Cyrus in Syria, already so often mentioned. He had also
been a disciple of Theodore of Mopsuestia ; and if he did not
go so far as he did, yet he had, in former times, frequently
maintained that, by the doctrine of Cyril and Ephesus, the
natures in Christ are mingled. With peculiar violence he
had in particular opposed the anathematisms of Cyril as
Apollinarian (sec. 132 in vol. iii.). At the third (Ecumenical
Synod at Ephesus he appeared in company with his patriarch,
John of Antioch, and he was one of the most zealous members
of the Conciliabuluni which opposed the Ephesine Synod and
decreed the deposition of Cyril and Memnon (sec. 135). For
this reason he was, like others, excommunicated until he
should amend (sec. 139). When the Emperor summoned
deputies of both parties, as well of the Ephesine Synod as of
236 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
the Antiochene faction, Theodoret was among the latter, came
in this capacity to Chalcedon, distinguished himself here
also by his polemic against Cyril, and would know nothing at
all of Church communion with him. He was pained by the
Emperor taking the orthodox envoys with him to Constantin-
ople, whilst the Antiochenes were obliged to remain at Chalce-
don ; and still endeavoured by speeches, letters, etc., to labour
for what he thought the true doctrine, and cried " Woe " over
the persecutors of Nestorius (sees. 145, 147, 148, 149).
After his departure from Chalcedon we meet with him
again active against Cyril at Synods and by writings (sees. 151
152); soon, however, the explanation of Cyril, that he taught
no mingling of the natures, gave him great satisfaction (sec
153). That he was not really a Nestorian he showed by
his offer to anathematise all who separate the one Lord into
two Sons, as well as by his endeavouring to gain over other
Oriental bishops for the restoration of Church unity. When
the union between Cyril and John of Antioch was actually
effected, Theodoret was in agreement with the dogmatic part
of the document of union, but would not at all consent with
the anathematising of Nestorius, which was contained in it,
as he held his friend to be innocent in the principal matter,
and considered him to be misunderstood (sees. 158, 159).
He took, therefore, for some time a middle position between
the decided friends and the complete opponents of the union,
went, therefore, temporarily with his Patriarch John, became
reconciled again after a conference with him, and entered into
the union, after John had allowed that anyone who was
unwilling need not subscribe the deposition of Nestorius (sec.
159).
When, after the death of Cyril, the Monophysite party
began to grow powerful under the protection of his successor
Dioscurus, Theodoret again came under suspicion of Nestor-
ianism, and although he put forth a clear confession of his
orthodoxy, Dioscurus nevertheless pronounced him excom-
municated. The Emperor, too, became very ill-disposed
towards him, and forbade him to appear at the next Synod
unless he were expressly summoned (sees. 170, 175). After-
wards he was deposed at the Robber-Synod, and banished by
ORIGIN OF THE CONTROVERSY OF THE THREE CHAPTERS. 237
the Emperor (sees. 179, 181). He appealed to the Pope,
and petitioned for an impartial examination of his case at
another Synod. The new Emperor Marcian recalled him ;
but he could not at once enter upon his bishopric, because
the Synod of Chalcedon had first to decide on the subject.
When he appeared at the eighth session, he was required
immediately to pronounce anathema upon Nestorius. He
hesitated, and at first was unwilling to do so unconditionally ;
yet he put his own orthodoxy out of doubt, and at last con-
sented to the anathema, whereupon he received his bishopric
back, and was troubled no more to his death (A.D. 457).
The Emperor Justinian, as we know, had not wished to
anathematise the person nor all the works of Theodoret, but
only those written against Cyril and the Synod of Ephesus
and those in defence of Nestorius ; and he was materially so
far right, as the books in question contained, in fact, much '
that was erroneous, particularly many unfair attacks upon
Cyril and the third Synod, many misrepresentations of the
doctrine of Cyril and the third Synod, and a too favourable
exposition of the Nestorian theses. From the orthodox side,
therefore, it was possible to give an unhesitating assent to
the anathema required in regard of these matters. As, how-
ever, the Synod of Chalcedon restored Theodoret without
further demand, and pronounced no sentence on any part of
his works, many of the orthodox supposed that the edict of
the Emperor contained an attack upon the credit of the
Council of Chalcedon, and the Monophysites could not fail, in
fact, to use it in this sense. This scruple could not but arise
when it was remembered that formerly at the religious con-
ference at Constantinople, A.D. 533, the Severians had made
the restoration of Theodoret a reproach against the Council
of Chalcedon (sec. 246), and had maintained that he had not
pronounced anathema on Nestorius at Chalcedon honestly, but
only in appearance and deceptively.1
Finally, in regard to the letter of Ibas to Maris, we have
already seen (sec. 160) that, when Nabulas came forward
with his violent polemic against the dead Theodore of
Mopsuestia, Ibas was a priest of Edessa, and a great admirer
1 Mansi, t. viii. p. 829 ; Hardouiu, t. ii. p. 1170.
238 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
of Theodore. After the death of Nabulas he became himself
bishop of Edessa. About twelve years later some of his
clergy brought a complaint against him, before the Patriarch
Dominus of Antioch, on several grounds, particularly because
he had circulated the writings of Theodore of Mopsuestia,
had allowed himself in heretical expressions, and had made
his dissolute nephew, Daniel, bishop of Carrae, and had spent
Church property (sec. 169). In order to the investigation
of the matter two commissions had to meet in Berytus and
Tyre (about the year 448) ; the subject, however, came
up at the ninth and tenth sessions of Chalcedon, at which
the earlier minutes of Berytus and Tyre were read again
(sec. 196). The chief Corpus delicti was the letter to Maris,
bishop of Hardaschir in Persia, ascribed to Ibas, and this was
naturally also read at Chalcedon. We gave a short extract
from it under the tenth session of Chalcedon (sec. 196). The
letter judges Cyril and the first Ephesine Synod with distinct
unfairness and injustice, misrepresents the history of the
Synod, accuses Cyril of having held an Apollinarian doctrine
before the union with the Orientals, and casts the same
reproach against the Synod of Ephesus because they approved
the anathematisms of Cyril. Later, however, he says, Cyril
and his adherents had corrected themselves, and, in the union,
had accepted the true faith. The letter also will not admit
the Communicatio idiomatum. In such a view of the matter
an anathema on him (Ibas) was fully justified, in an objective
sense, for he was really in a high degree offensive and insult-
ing, not only towards the friends of Cyril, but also towards all
who respected the third (Ecumenical Synod. This part of its
contents was capable of only one meaning.
On the contrary, the letter offered also a side in respect
to which double and opposed judgment was possible. The
author also declares in the letter that he holds fast that
doctrine which had been enunciated at the union between
Cyril and the Orientals, and recognises the unity of the
one Lord in the duality of the natures. If importance were
attached to this, it might be inferred that Ibas had been
peculiarly orthodox, and only through a misunderstanding
had earlier opposed Cyril, and later denied the Communicatio
ORIGIN OF THE CONTROVERSY OF THE THREE CHAPTERS. 239
idiomatum. But we might also understand that the author
was only in appearance at the point of view of the union,
and that his continued denial of the Communicatio idiomatum,
and also the manner in which he still expressed himself in
this letter respecting Cyril and the third (Ecumenical Council,
showed that then, too, he was still heretical, and that the
whole letter was penetrated with the Nestorian leaven.
The Emperor and the members of the subsequent fifth
(Ecumenical Synod had taken the latter view ; the defendants
of the three chapters, on the contrary, formed a more favour-
able and kindly judgment on the letter and its author. On
this side could be urged the circumstance that Ibas at the
transactions at Tyre (sec. 196) had declared his adhesion to
the third (Ecumenical Synod, and at the same time had him-
self recognised and retracted a leading error in the letter.
He was therefore, and because he gave assurance of his
orthodoxy, agreed to the anathema on Nestorius, and could
present a good testimony from his clergy, acquitted by his
judges at Tyre (sec. 196). It is true that the Eobber-Synod
deposed him again, but the Synod of Chalcedon annulled this
sentence again, declared the accusations brought against Ibas
to be groundless, and restored him to his bishopric. This
judgment was preceded by the reading of the Acts already
passed in this matter, the minutes of Berytus and Tyre, the
letter to Maris, and the testimony of the clergy of Edessa in
favour of Ibas ; and the Synod thereupon decreed the restora-
tion of Ibas on the condition that he should pronounce anew
an anathema upon Nestorius and his heresy. On the letter
to Maris in specie the Synod pronounced no judgment.
Whatever was Nestorian in it Ibas must have abjured by the
required anathema on Nestorius. Some few of the voters at
Chalcedoii, however, namely, the papal legatees and Bishop
Maximus of Antioch, expressed themselves in such a manner
as to imply that in this very letter to Maris (on its bright
side) they had discovered a proof of the orthodoxy of Ibas.
That this explanation of their words is the correct one, we
shall discuss later on, in the third chapter of this book, when
we treat of the confirmation of the fifth (Ecumenical Council
by Pope Vigilius ; and in any case it was not surprising that
240 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
many among the orthodox should see, in the demand for an
anathema upon the letter, an insult to the Synod of Chalcedon.
In order to pacify them the Emperor and his friends
endeavoured to bring proof that Ibas had never acknowledged
that letter to be his, nay, that at the Synod at Chalcedon he
had denied the authorship rather clearly. But the proof was
insufficient ; and also the way in which they sought to explain
the votes of the papal legates, etc., and to show in an artificial
manner that the Synod of Chalcedon had specially rejected
that letter, could give no satisfaction.1 Many of the orthodox,
particularly Bishop Facundus of Hermione in his Defensio
trium capitulorum, also for some time Pope Vigilius, maintained,
likewise going too far, the exact contrary, that the Council of
Chalcedon had clearly approved the letter of Ibas to Maris,
and declared it orthodox, and that an anathema upon it was
not possible without detracting from that Synod. From all
this we see how the imperial edict for the condemnation of
the three chapters found, and must have found, differences of
judgment among the orthodox.
If, now, we look a little closer at this edict itself, the
contemporary Liberatus (I.e.), in the first place, tells us only
that the Emperor demanded an anathema upon Theodore of
Mopsuestia and the letter of Ibas. Of Theodoret he is silent
at first ; but some lines later he says : " Theodore Ascidas
counselled the Emperor cunningly to declare an anathema on
the three chapters in a special imperial decree," i.e. not to
bring the subject in a more uncertain manner before a Synod,
but to decide it by a peremptory imperial decree. " There-
upon," he says, " the Emperor actually issued a book (a
detailed edict) in damnationem trium capitulorum." To a
similar effect Facundus also, in lib. i. c. 2 of his Defensio
trium capitulorum, speaks first of the letter of Ibas, the
anathematising of which had been advised to the Emperor ;
but in other places, and in the preface to the work mentioned,
he says expressly that an anathema had been demanded and
pronounced upon some writings of Theodoret, and on the
person and writings of Theodore.2
1 Such artificial proofs will meet us later. See sees. 263, 271, 276.
2 FacnnduB, Pro defensione trium capit.inGa.\]a.nd.£ibl.Palr'um,t. xi. p. 665.
ORIGIN OF THE CONTROVERSY OF THE THREE CHAPTERS. 241
Liberatus maintains (I.e.) that Theodore Ascidas gave this
advice to the Emperor chiefly on two grounds : First, because
he was himself not merely an Origenist, but also an Acephalus,
and, moreover, because, as an Origenist, he hated Theodore of
Mopsuestia, who had written against Origen. There is no
doubt that Liberatus was here mistaken, as no one else says
anything of the Monophysitism of Ascidas, and, in fact,
he is not to be suspected of it.1 The opposition of the
Mopsuestian to Origen, however, had reference only to his
exegetical methods, and certainly did not give occasion for
the controversy of the three chapters. The thorough accurate
account of its origin is given by the man who must have
been best informed on the subject, Bishop Domitian of
Ancyra, the friend of Ascidas, and the second head of the
Origenists. In his letter to Pope Vigilius he writes that,
" on account of the doctrine of the pre-existence and apoka-
tastasis they had unjustly attacked and condemned Origen and
other holy and celebrated teachers. Those who wished to
defend such doctrines had not been able to do so ; therefore
they had completely given up this controversy, and had
begun another over Theodore, bishop of Mopsuestia, and
had endeavoured to get an anathema pronounced upon him,
with the intention of abolishing the movement that was
going on against Origen " (ad dbolitionem ut putdbant eorum,
quce contra Originem mota constituerant or constiterant).
Facundus, who communicates this fragment of a letter (I.e.
lib. iv. c. 4, p. 708, and lib i. c. 2, p. 667), infers from it
• illegitimately that the Origenists had acted only from revenge,
and for this reason had sought to stir up disturbance in the
Church (I.e. lib. i. c. 2) ; but he may be right in this, when
he declares that the Monophysites, who hitherto had laboured
in vain to destroy the credit of the Synod of Chalcedon, had
now made use of the Origenists, in order through these, who
on this point (in regard to the Council of Chalcedon) were not
suspected, to carry out their plans.
That the first edict, in which Justinian, at the wish of
1 Noris remarks (Diss. Hist, de Synsxlo quinta, c. 3, p. 581, in t. i. of Bal-
lerini's edition of the works of Cardinal Noris) properly, that the Africans had
reckoned that opponent of the three chapters among the Acephali.
IV. 1 6
242 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
Ascidas, published the three anathematisms of which we have
heard, was drawn up, not by the Emperor himself, but by the
Monophysites and Origenists, Facundus maintains repeatedly,
and professes to know that these had prefixed the name of
the Emperor by imposition (lib. ii. c. 1). This, however, is
only faf on de parler, in order the more easily to attack the
edict in question ; and, in fact, he only means to say that
they had outwitted the Emperor, as this edict stands in con-
tradiction with other decrees, particularly his declarations of
faith (lib. ii. c. 1). Theodore Ascidas is generally considered
to be the author of this imperial edict. Walch, however
(Ketzerhist. Bd. viii. S. 152), has contested this view, as
Ascidas expressly asserted later, on his reconciliation with
Vigilius, that he had written nothing in this matter. But
Walch is here plainly wrong, since Theodore Ascidas, Mennas,
and their associates in the letter in question,1 say only they
had written nothing that was contrary to the union effected
between the Emperor and the Pope of the year 550 (sec. 261).
Thus it is only the authorship of the later imperial edict, the
6/j,o\oyla, which is denied.
We can no more settle with certainty the time of the
composition than we can the authorship of the first edict, as
this has been lost together with the subscription. Baronius
removed it into the year 546, whilst Cardinal Noris (De
Synodo, v. c. 3) showed that it was probably issued towards
the end of the year 543, or at the beginning of 544. In
opposition to him the learned Jesuit Gamier contended
for the year 545;2 but the Ballerini, Walch, and others
concerned in the reckoning of Noris, have also given the
preference to the beginning of A.D. 544.3 It is incontestable
that the edict cannot have been drawn up before the year
543, for it is plain that it was issued after the anathema on
Origen, and to draw the Emperor away from this. It cannot,
however, be placed later than 545, for in this year Pope
1 Mansi, t. ix. p. 63 ; Hardouin, t. iii. p. 11.
- Garnerii Diss. de V. Synodo generali, c. 3, in Schulze's ed. of the works of
Tlieodoret, t. v. p. 528.
:t Norisii Opp. ed. Bailer, t. iv. p. 1002 ; Walch, Ketzerhist. Bd. viii. IS.
153 f.
ORIGIN OF THE CONTROVERSY OF THE THREE CHAPTERS. 243
Vigilius travelled from Rome to Constantinople,1 and the
edict had been issued some time before his departure. We
said that the edict in question had been lost. Baronius (ad
ann. 546, n. 10), Mosheim (Inst. Hist. Eccks. p. 249), and
others thought that we might find its contents in the later
6fio\oyui of the Emperor, of which we shall hereafter have to
speak more fully ; but Noris has completely disproved this ;
and all subsequent writers, particularly the Ballerini and
Walch, have justly coincided with him.2 To give only a few
reasons, we note : In the 6fj,o\oyta, among other things, men-
tion is made of that Synod at Mopsuestia, summoned by the
Emperor, which was not held until the year 550, whilst
our edict was drawn up in the year 544. Moreover, we do
not find in the 6fio\oyla those fragments which Facundus
communicates from the first edict of the Emperor. Of these
fragments there are three. The first occurs in Facundus
(I.e. lib. ii. c. 3), and contains the anathematismus : " Si quis
dicit, rectam esse ad Marim impiam epistolam, quse dicitur
ab Iba esse facta, aut ejus assertor est, et non magis anathe-
mati subjicit, utpote male tractantem sanctum Cyrillum, qui
dicit quia Deus Verbum factus est homo, et ejusdem Sancti
Cyrilli 12 capitulis detrahentem, et primam Ephesinam
synodum impetentem, Nestorium vero defendentem, laudan-
tem autem Theodorum Mopsuestiae, anathema sit." 3
A second fragment, in Facundus (lib. iv. c. 4, I.e. p. 709),
runs : " Si quis dicit hsec nos ad abolendos aut excludendos
sanctos patres, qui in Chalcedonensi fuere concilio, dixisse,
anathema sit." The third fragment, finally (in Facundus, ii. 3),
in its content, is connected with the first, and contains no
anathematism, but the words : " Oportet aperte inspicere ad
Marim epistolam, omnia quidem sine Deo et impie dicentem,
illud tantuinmodo ostendentem bene, quia ex illo Theodorus
per Orientem in ecclesia anathematizatus est." Further infor-
1 This is stated by the contemporary, Victor of Tununum, in his Chronicwt, in
Galland. I.e. t. xii. p. 230. Cf. Noris, Diss. de Synodo V. c. 3; and Walch, I.e.
S. 134 and 165 f., and under S. 816, note 1.
2 Noris, De Synodo V. c. 3, t. i. p. 581 ; and the Observationes of the Bal-
lerini in t. iv. p. 948 of their edition of the works of Cardinal Noris ; Walch,
I.e. S. 151.
8 In Gallaud. I.e. t. xi. p. 682.
244 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
mation in regard to the nature of the first imperial edict is
given by the African Bishop Pontianus, in his letter to the
Emperor Justinian,1 in which he says that the Emperor's
letter contains first a correct explanation of the faith; and at
its close a demand that an anathema should be pronounced
upon Theodore, on certain writings of Theodoret, and on the
letter of Ibas.
The first imperial edict, as Facundus declares, was again
altered by the Origenist and Monophysite counsellors of the
Emperor, and instead of the longer formula of anathema
against the letter of Ibas given above (Fragment i.), the shorter
was substituted : " Si quis dicit, rectam esse ad Marim impiam
epistolam, aut earn defendit, et non anathematizat earn, ana-
thema sit."2 This later edition is called by Facundus the
Formula subscriptionis, whilst he designates the earlier as the
Epistola, damnationis. As reason for this alteration he states
that, in the first formula, only some parts of the letter had
been rejected as objectionable, namely, the passages against
Cyril, etc., but that now the Monophysites had demanded an
anathema on the letter in general, so that its orthodox con-
tent as well, the doctrine of the two natures, might seem to
be anathematised. Walch (I.e. p. 151 f.) supposes that the
Emperor Justinian himself had, at a later period, withdrawn
his edict, as he was obliged to bring the controversy of the
three chapters before a Synod, and for this reason it had been
so soon lost.
The first from whom the Emperor demanded the sub-
scription of the edict was the Patriarch Mennas of Con-
stantinople. He hesitated at first, and declared that we
must not imperil the credit of the Council of Chalcedon, and
that he would do nothing without the apostolic see. At
last, however, he subscribed ; but after they had promised
him on oath that, in case the bishop of Eome should not
agree, his subscription should be given back to him. In the
same way Ephraim, patriarch of Antioch, would not agree ;
but when he was threatened with deposition, he also sub-
cribed, his office, as Facundus (iv. 4) remarks, being dearer
1 Mansi, t. ix. p. 45 ; Hardouin, t. vii. p. 1.
* Facundus, Dcfensio trium CMpit. lib. ii. c. 3, in Gallaud. I.e. t. xi. p. 682&.
ORIGIN OF THE CONTROVERSY OF THE THREE CHAPTERS. 245
to him than the truth. Similar weakness and inconsistency
were shown by the Patriarch Peter of Jerusalem. When,
at the beginning, a company of monks visited him (for what
purpose Facundus does not say), he declared, with an oath,
that whoever agreed with the new decree attacked the
Council of Chalcedon. In spite of this he agreed himself
later on.
Finally, Zoilus, patriarch of Antioch, wrote very soon and
spontaneously to Pope Vigilius, that he also had subscribed
under constraint.1 Similar compulsion was brought to bear
upon the other bishops, and it was resolved to extort the
subscriptions of the whole episcopate, in order, says Facundus,2
that it might appear as though the whole Church were
opposed to the Synod of Chalcedon.3 Liberatus also speaks
of this constraint, remarking that some had been caught by
presents, and others frightened by the threat of banishment.4
In particular, Mennas compelled the bishops under him to
subscribe, as a number of them complained in a memorial
to Stephen, the papal legate.5 Gamier assumed that Mennas,
for this purpose, held a special Synod at Constantinople ; but
there is nothing said of this in the original documents.6 In
order to produce a better inclination to a subscription of the
imperial edict, it was from the beginning declared that the
question would also be put on the subject to the Roman
1 I.e. lib. iv. c. 4, p. 708.
2 I.e. lib. ii. c. 3, p. 6826 ; and Contra Mocianum, ib. p. 8136.
3 Justinian himself certainly says only that "he had put the question to the
bishops how they thought about the three chapters " (in his letter to the first
session of the fifth (Ecumenical Council) ; but we must remember that the appli-
cation of the rack was called "putting the question."
4 Liberatus, I.e. c. 24, p. 160.
8 In Facundus, I.e. lib. iv. c. 4, p. 708.
6 Cf. Gamier, Diss. de V. Synodo, in Schulze's edition of the works of
Theodoret, t. v. p. 534, and Walch, Ketzerhist. Bd. viii. S. 69 and 156 f.
Gamier thinks that there are still extant fragments of the Acts of this Synod,
namely (a) the Greek letter of the Emperor to the Synod, reprinted in Mansi,
t. ix. p. 582, and Hardouin, t. iii. p. 322, and according to the general opinion
identical with the imperial letter addressed to the fifth Synod (see below, sec.
267) ; (b) also, that the fragment of an answer to the imperial letter, appended
to the latter, belongs to this earlier Synod. Cave and Basnage agreed with
Gamier, whilst he was opposed by the Ballerini in their edition of the works
of Cardinal Noris, t. iv. p. 1007 sq.
240 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
Church ; but Facundus shows (I.e. iv. 3) how deceptive such
a supplementary inquiry would have been, since everyone
who judged otherwise than the edict on the matter would
have been previously anathematised.
Cunning and violence succeeded, by degrees, in gaining
the whole East to subscribe the edict. The Latins were not
so pliant. The papal legate, Stephen, who resided in Con-
stantinople, immediately reproached the Patriarch Mennas
for his weakness, and broke off Church communion with
him.1 The same was done by Bishop Dacius of Milan, who
was residing at Milan at that time, and subsequently went
thence to Sicily (hinc reversum), in order to make the Pope
acquainted with what had happened.2 At the same time,
or soon afterwards, there were also residing in Constantinople
several African bishops, among them Facundus of Hermione.
That this was so, and that Facundus, at the instigation of his
colleagues, even before the arrival of Pope Vigilius in Con-
stantinople, composed a memorial to the Emperor against
the condemnation of Theodore, etc., we see from his Prcefatio
to his Defensio trium capitulorum? Moreover, he and his
friends broke off Church communion with Mennas and all
adherents of the imperial edict.4 Before Facundus had quite
finished that document, Pope Vigilius arrived at Constantin-
ople ; and when, afterwards, there was begun, under his
presidency, an examination of the points of controversy, the
Pope suddenly broke up the proceedings, and required that
each one of the bishops present should give in his vote in
writing (see below, sec. 259).
For this business the imperial Magister Officiorum allowed
Facundus no more than seven days, in which were two holy
days,5 on which account he hastily took a good deal out of
his now half-ready book into his new Eesponsio, and added
more. Subsequently, with greater leisure, he completed and
1 Facundus, I.e. lib. iv. cc. 3 and 4, pp. 707« and 708a.
2 Facundus, I.e. lib. iv. c. 3, p. 707.
3 In Galland. I.e. t. xi. p. 665.
4 Facundus, Contra Mocwnum, in Galland. I.e. p. 813.
5 As Vigilius published his Judicatum immediately afterwards, on Easter
Eve, 548, Gamier supposed that those seven days, with two holy days, should
l>e placed immediately before 548.
ORIOIN OF THE CONTROVERSY OF THE THREE CHAPTERS. 247
improved the first work, and in particular corrected many
patristic passages, which he must formerly have drawn from
inferior manuscripts, and which must have been transferred
from this inaccurate text into that Eesponsio. He remarks
this expressly for the enlightening of those readers who
might compare the Eesponsio with his improved principal
work — Defensio trium capitulorum. It is therefore quite
a mistake to say, as was formerly done, that Facundus com-
posed the Defensio itself in seven days.
When the copy of the imperial decree came to Eome, a
favourable judgment of it by the learned deacon, Ferrandus
of Carthage, was brought forward ; and the Roman deacons,
Pelagius and Anatolius, wrote to him, asking him, together
with the bishop of Carthage and other zealous and learned
men, to give them counsel as to what in general they should
do. Already, in the question of inquiry of the Romans it
was expressed that the Acephali, with the assistance of so-
called orthodox men, had stirred up the whole affair to the
prejudice of the Council of Chalcedon and the Epistola dog-
inatica of Leo I. ; and Ferrandus replied that the letter of
Ibas, which the (Ecumenical Synod of Chalcedon had ap-
proved, and generally the three chapters, could not be
objected to, because otherwise the estimation of all synodal
decrees might be called in question.1 In consequence of this
the whole of Africa and Rome was opposed to the wishes
of the Emperor, and an interesting evidence of this sen-
timent is given in the still extant letter of the African
Bishop Pontianus to the Emperor, recently referred to.
Justinian, however, now summoned Pope Vigilius to Con-
stantinople, in order to get him to assent to his plans.
Vigilius obeyed unwillingly, for he foresaw the inconveniences
which awaited him ; but he was forced to take the journey,
as a letter of the Italian clergy testifies;2 and Victor of
Tununum also asserts that the Emperor had compelled him.
Indeed, Anastasius ( Vit. Pontif.) professes to know that the
1 Facundus, I.e. lib. iv. c. 3. The lengthy and learned answer of Ferrandus
is still extant in his Epistola ad Pelagium et Anatolium, diacanos urbis Roina,
in Galland. t. xi. p. 361.
2 Mansi, t. ix. p. 152 ; Hardouin, t. iii. p. 47.
248 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
Empress Theodora sent the officer of State, Anthemius, to
Home with orders, if the Pope did not agree to come, to take
him by force from his palace, or even out of any church
except S. Peter's, and carry him on board ship. He says,
too, that this had actually been done, and that the Pope was
seized on the 22nd of November, in the Church of S. Cecilia,
and that the people had thrown stones, etc., at the ship on
which he was carried off, and had invoked hunger and pes-
tilence on the imperial commissioner.
We are assured by the much more trustworthy Facundus,
that when Vigilius departed from Eome the whole of Home
entreated him not to agree to the condemnation of the three
chapters. The same petition was presented to him after he
had arrived at Sicily by the Christians of Sardinia and
Africa. Here in Sicily he also met with Bishop Dacius of
Milan, arrived from Constantinople, and commended him
highly and his own legate Stephen on account of their
breach with Mennas. Here also he met an envoy of the
Patriarch Zoilus of Alexandria, who was instructed to inform
him that the patriarch had subscribed only under compulsion.
Later on, when Vigilius, after a long stay of about a year in
Sicily,1 sailed for the Peloponnesus, and travelled from thence
to Constantinople by land, over Hellas and Illyricum, the
faithful of these two countries besought him not to agree to
this innovation ; and he himself on his journey wrote a letter
to Mennas, in which he expressed his strong disapproval of
his proceedings, and of all that had been done in this matter,
and demanded a retractation.2 From this it is clear how
greatly Victor of Tununum is mistaken, when he relates,
under the year 543, that the Empress Theodora had
obtained a promise from Vigilius, before he became Pope,
1 Procopius, De Bella Gothico, lib. iii. c. 15, says : " Vigilius remained a long
time in Sicily." Noris and others suppose that he had intended to hold a Synod
in Sicily, which, however, is very doubtful. The reason for his long sojourn in
Sicily is not known. Cf. Punkes, I.e. S. 67. As Vigilius arrived in Constantin-
ople, January 25, 547, as we shall see presently, and tarried a year in Sicily,
he must have left Rome in the year 545.
- Facundus, Defensio, etc., lib. iv. cc. 3 and 4. The letter of Vigilius to
Mennas is, in part, reproduced verbally in the second treatise of Facundus,
Contra Mocianum, in Galland. t. xi. p. 814.
POPE VIGILIUS AND HIS JUDICATUM OF APRIL 11, M.S. 249
to anathematise the three chapters. This is an evident
anachronism.
SEC. 259. — Pope Vigilius arid his Judicatum of
April 11, 548.
When Vigilius arrived in Constantinople, January 25,
547,1 he was received by the Emperor with many honours.
According to Theophanes we might suppose that the Pope
had pronounced a condemnation of the three chapters
immediately after his arrival ; but the chronicler condenses
the narrative, and says that Vigilius, inflated by the friendly
reception of the Emperor, had punished Mennas by separating
him from Church communion for four months.2 The Pope
inflicted the same censure on all the other bishops who had
subscribed the imperial edict.3 Naturally, Mennas now had
the name of the Pope struck out of the diptychs of his
church.4 Gregory the Great professes to know that Vigilius
then pronounced anathema also on the Empress Theodora
and the Acephali, at the very time that Home was plundered
by the enemy (the Goths).5
Before long Vigilius altered his position in the most
surprising manner. How this happened is not fully known.
What is certain is, that the Emperor had frequent personal
intercourse with him, and also repeatedly sent officers of
State and bishops to him, to induce him to agree with
Mennas and the rest.6 The vehement Facundus (Lc. p. 814,
a and J) maintains that no violence was done to him, but
that he was led astray by ambition and by bribery. The
1 This date is found in the appendices to the Chronicle of Marcellinus in
Sealiger, Thesaur. Temper, p. 54 ; Noris, De Synodo V. c. 3, I.e. t. i. p. 593 ;
Pagi, Critica in AnnaJ.es Baronii, t. i. p. 586, ad ann. 547, n. 4. Cf. "VValch,
Kctzerhist. Bd. viii. S. 165.
2 Theophanes, Chronographia, in Pagi, ad ann. 547, n. 5.
3 Facundus, Contra Afocianum, in Galland. t. xi. p. 8146.
4 Theophanes, Lc.
8 Gregory the Great, Epist. lib. ii. ep. 51, Bendict. ed. t. ii. p. 615 ;
according to the earlier arrangement of Gregory's letters received by Hansi, lib.
ii. ep. 36, in vol. ix. of Mansi's Councils, p. 1105.
8 We see this from the text of an imperial edict given by Baluze, in Mansi,
t. ix. p. 182 ; Hardouin, t. iii. p. 57.
250 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
Italian clergy, on the contrary, speak of the imprisonment
and serious persecution of the Pope, and relate that he said
on one occasion to his persecutors : " Contestor, quia etsi me
captivum tenetis, beatum Petrum apostolum captivum facere
non potestis." * After some time, however, Vigilius first
gave privately a promise that he would anathematise the
three chapters ; 2 and the imperial Minister Constantino,
as commissioned by his master, gave the assurance at the
seventh session of the fifth Council that the Pope had given
this promise in writing and by word of mouth, and this
in the presence of the Emperor, his Ministers, and some
bishops.3 To this time probably belong also the two letters,
containing these promises, from Vigilius to the Emperor and the
Empress.4 They are short, and have almost verbally the same
contents. The one to the Emperor runs : " We never were
heretical, and are not so. But I demand the rights which
God has granted to my see. But your Piety must not infer
from this that I defend heretics. Behold, I respond to your
irresistible command, and anathematise the letter of Ibas,
and the doctrines of Theodoret, and of Theodore formerly
bishop of Mopsuestia, who was always foreign to the Church,
and an opponent of the holy Fathers. Whoever does not
confess that the one only-begotten Word of God, that is,
Christ, is one substance, and one person, and unam operationem
(fiiav evepyeiav), we anathematise," etc. These letters were
read subsequently in the seventh session of the fifth and in the
third session of the sixth (Ecumenical Synod, and at the latter
their genuineness was contested by the papal legates. This
led to an inquiry, the result of which will be given below, sec.
267, when we come to treat of the Acts of the fifth (Ecumenical
Synod. For the present it is sufficient to remark that these
two letters are probably genuine, but interpolated, and that
the words unam operationem were inserted by a Monothelite.
At the time of Vigilius there was still a controversy as to
whether there were one or two operations and wills in Christ.
1 Mansi, t. ix. p. 153 ; Hardouin, t. iii. p. 47.
2 Facundus, Contra Mocianum, p. 813J.
3 Mansi, t. ix. p. 347 ; Hardouin, t. iii. p. 172.
4 Mansi, t. ix. p. 351 ; Hardouin, t. iii. p. 175.
POPE VIC.ILIUS AND HIS JUDICATUM OF APRIL 11, 548. 251
When Vigilius began to change his mind, he again
resumed Church communion with Mennas, and his name was
again received into the diptychs of Constantinople. The
fact, however, stated by Theophanes, that his name was put in
the first place in the diptychs of Constantinople, even before the
bishop of Constantinople, did not take place until A.D. 552.1
Theophanes says further, that it was particularly the Empress
Theodora who brought about the reconciliation, and that it
took place on June 29, the festival of the Apostles Peter and
Paul, A.D. 547.2 This agrees entirely with his previous state-
ment in regard to the four months ; for, if Vigilius arrived
at Constantinople on January 25, 5 4 7, and shortly afterwards
broke off communion with Mennas, then four months elapsed
from that time to the reconciliation on June 29.
By the will of the Emperor conferences were now begun,
to which nearly all the bishops present in Constantinople were
summoned. After the arrival of the Pope, many of the
bishops who had not yet subscribed the imperial edict had
betaken themselves to Constantinople, in order to watch the
further development of the matter ; and Facundus states that
about seventy bishops attended the conferences, besides those
who had previously subscribed.3 These conferences are fre-
quently described as a Constantinopolitan Synod of A.D. 547
and 548; e.g. by Baronius (ad ann. 547, n. 32 sq.), Pagi
(ad ann. 547, n. 8), Walch (I.e. S. 171 sq.); but Facundus,
who was himself a member of this assembly, and to whom we
owe our information on the subject, never uses the expression
Synod, but Judicium and Eocamen (I.e. pp. 665, 813), calls the
Pope who presided over it repeatedly Judex (I.e. p. 814), and
describes the whole in such a manner as to make us under-
stand that it was a conference for the examination of the
anathematisms of the three chapters laid before them by the
Emperor, a judicium or examen on the question whether the
Pope could agree to give the final decision, whilst the bishops
present had only to give counsels.
1 Cf. the observations of the Ballerini, in Noris, t. iv. p. 949 ; and Walch,
I.e. 8. 171.
2 Cf. Noris, I.e. c. 4, t. i. p. 595.
8 Facundus, Contra Mocianwn, in Gal land. t. xi. p. 814.
252 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
Facundus says quite distinctly (I.e. p. 814), that if the
votes given by the bishops in writing had not pleased the
Pope, he would have torn them up or burnt them, or by his
own sentence he could have invalidated them (ea scindere vel
urerc, aut per suam evacuare scntentiam). So also we learn
from Facundus (I.e. p. 813a), that three such conferences
took place, and he communicates the following particulars
from the gestis of the third. He requested that the Pope
would institute an examination into the question as to whether
the letter of Ibas was really accepted (suscepta) by the Synod
of Chalcedon or not, since the opponents maintain that the
anathema on Theodore of Mopsuestia was actually no attack
upon the importance of that Synod, since it had not received
the letter of Ibas in which Theodore was commended. He,
Facundus, admitted often that he had not broken off com-
munion with Mennas, etc., on account of the anathema on
Theodore in itself. He could not indeed approve of this
anathema, but he regarded it partly as endurable, partly as
not particularly important ; but the aim of his opponents was,
by this means, to undermine the authority of the fourth
(Ecumenical Synod.1
It was natural that this question of Facundus should be
very inconvenient for Pope Vigilius, since he had already
given private assurances to the Emperor. He would there-
fore simply put it aside by answering that " this was not
known to him (either that the Synod of Chalcedon had
received the letter of Ibas, or also that the other party
wanted to destroy the importance of that Synod) " ; but
Facundus now asked leave " to bring proof that that letter
was really received at Chalcedon, and to invalidate all the
arguments of the opponents." Upon this Vigilius broke up
the whole consultation in perplexity, and required a vote in
writing of each of the bishops. The seventy bishops, who
had not hitherto subscribed, were now individually plied by
the adherents of the imperial edict, and led astray to declara-
tions which were hostile to the Synod of Chalcedon ; and, in
order that they might not be able to recant, they were
conducted, some days later, in public procession, well
1 Facundus, Contra Mocianum, I.e. p. 813.
POPE VIGILIUS AND HIS JUDICATUM OF APHIL 11, 548. 253
guarded, to Vigilius, in order to present their votes to
him.1
We have already seen (sec. 258) that Facundus, in this
emergency, drew up in seven days an extract from his work,
Defensio triuin capitulorum, which was not yet quite complete.
He further tells us that Vigilius immediately carried these
votes of the seventy bishops into the palace, where they were
added to the declarations of those bishops who had already
subscribed. In order, however, to excuse this conduct, he
declared to the party of Facundus that he did not intend to
take those votes with him to Eome, nor to deposit them in
the Roman archives, so that it might not be inferred that he
himself had approved of them.2
Soon afterwards, on Easter Eve, April 11, 548,3 Vigilius
issued his Judicatum, addressed to Mennas, which, as its title
indicates, professed to give the result obtained by him as
Judex through the conferences and votes (the judicium and
exameri). Unfortunately this important document is also
lost, and up to the present day it has been generally main-
tained, that only a single fragment of it has been preserved,
which is found in a letter of the Emperor Justinian to the
fifth (Ecumenical Synod, according to the text edited by
Baluze. It was overlooked that five such fragments exist in
another contemporaneous document.
First of all, let us examine closely that first fragment.4
After the Emperor had said that the Judicatum issued by the
Pope (first to Mennas) had been made known to all the
bishops, he gives the anathema, contained in it, on the three
chapters, with Vigilius's own words : " Et quoniam quse Nobis
de nomine Theodori Mopsuestini scripta porrecta sunt, multa
contraria rectae fidei releguntur, Nos monita Pauli sequentes
apostoli dicentis : Omnia probate, quod bonum est retinete, ideo-
que anathematizamus Theodorum, qui fuit Mopsuestiae epis-
copus, cum omnibus suis impiis scriptis, et qui vindicant eum.
1 Facundus, I.e. p. 813. 2 Facundns, I.e. p. 814.
3 This date is indicated by Vigilius himself in his letter to Rusticus and
Sebastianus, in Hansi, t. ix. p. 353 ; Hardouin, t. iii. p. 177. Cf. Noris, Lr.
t. i. p. 596, and Pagi, ad arm. 547, n. 10.
4 In Mausi, t. ix. p. 181 ; Hardouiu, t. iii. p. 57.
254 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
Anathematizamus et impiam epistolam, quae ad Marim
Persam scripta esse ab Iba dicitur, tamquam contrariam recta;
tidei Christianse, et omnes, qui eani vindicant, vel rectam esse
dicunt. Anathematizamus et scripta Theodoreti, quae contra
rectam fidem et duodecim Cyrilli capitula scripta sunt.1
Besides this fragment it was known only that Vigilius
had introduced in his Judicatum a clause or caution to the
effect, that " the importance of the Council of Chalcedon
should not be called in question." Noris and Natalis
Alexander2 might mislead us to the opinion that, with refer-
ence to this, the words in the Judicatum stood thus : " Salva
in omnibus reverentia Synodi Chalcedonensis." But this
formula was invented by Noris himself, because he found in
the original documents that Vigilius had repeatedly protested
that the Judicatum contained nothing which could detract
from the importance of the four ancient (Ecumenical Councils
or that of his predecessors the Popes.3 The same was testi-
fied also by the Italian clergy, writing to the Frankish
ambassadors, " that Vigilius, in the Judicatum, solicite
monuit, ne per occasionem aliquam supradicta synodus (of
Chalcedon) pateretur injuriam " ; and that " they had after-
1 In their edition of the works of Cardinal Noris (t. iv. p. 1036) the Ballerini
endeavour to remove some doubts as to the genuineness of this fragment,
because (re) from no other papal decrees has the Emperor taken anything
verbally into his edicts, and (b) because Justinian, at the time when he wrote
this, was no longer in possession of a copy of the Judicatwm (sec. 261). Both
grounds are untenable. The first is so weak that it needs no answer ; and as
regards the second, it is incredible that the Emperor should have retained no
copy of a document so important as the Judicatum. And even if he had
not possessed one himself, others would have made copies of it. See below, in
this section.
2 Noris, I.e. i. i. p. 595 ; Natal. Alex. Hist. Eccl. Saeculi vi. t. v. ed.
Venet. 1778.
3 Thus in his letter to Bishop Valentinian of Tomi : ' ' Legant ergo quae de
causa, quae hie mota est, ad fratrem nostrum Mennam . . . scribentes
legimus definisse, et tune cognoscent, nihil a nobis, Deo nos custodiente, com-
missum vel certe dispositum, quod contra fidem prsedicationemque venerandarum
quatuor synodorum . . . reperiatur aversum, aut unius ex his, qui definitioni
suprascriptae Chalcedonensis fidei subscripserunt, tangat injuriam ; vel quod
decessorum praedecessorum nostrorum inveniatur, quod absit, constitutis forte
contrarium." Mansi, t. ix. p. 360; Hardouin, t. iii. p. 182. Vigilius
expresses himself in a similar manner in his letter to Bishop Aurelian of Aries,
Mansi, I.e. p. 362 ; Hardouiu, I.e. p. 183.
POPE VIG1LIUS AND HIS JUDICATUM OF APRIL 11, 548. 255
wards wanted to compel the Pope to anathematise the three
chapters anew, without such a clause or caution in favour of
the Synod of Chalcedon, ut absolute ipsa capitula sine Synodi
Chalcedonensis mentione damnaret.1
So much was formerly known of the Judicatum. A
repeated dealing with the later Constitutum of Vigilius (of
May 14, 553) led me to see that in this there are five
more fragments of the Judicatum to be discovered. Towards
the end of the Constitutum, Vigilius mentions that his pre-
decessors, Popes Leo and Simplicius, had repeatedly and
solemnly declared that the decrees of Chalcedon must remain
unweakened in force, and from this that it was clear what
care he (Vigilius) must also take pro apostolicce sedis rectitu-
dine et pro universalis ecclesice consideratione. " Being long
mindful," he proceeds, " of this caution, in the letter which
we then addressed to Mennas, and which (after it had been,
in the presence of all the bishops and the Senate, handed to
your Majesty by Mennas, and by your Majesty with his
consent handed back to us) we now annul, so far as the three
chapters are concerned, — in that letter we provided that all
due respect should be paid to the Synod of Chalcedon, as the
contents of that letter testify. In proof we will add a few
considerations out of many that might be given." 2
There can be no doubt that by the letter to Mennas, here
referred to, the Judicatum is meant, for this agrees admirably
with all that is further added, that Mennas handed it to the
Emperor, and that he in a solemn assembly had restored this
document to the Pope, in order by this means to calm the
excitement which had arisen on that subject and against
Vigilius. Cf. below, sec. 261. We have therefore no doubt
that the five passages which Vigilius took into his Consti-
tutum from the letter in question to Mennas must be con-
sidered as fragments of the Judicatum. These are mere
variations on the theme Salvi in omnibus reverentia Synodi
Chalcedonensis, merely passages in which, although he anathe-
matised the three chapters, yet protested and maintained his
1 That they were mistaken in stating that such a request was made to the
Pope, will appear later OB.
2 Mausi, t. ix. p. 104 sq. ; Hardouin, t. iii. p. 45.
256 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
adhesion to the Council of Chalcedon ; so that no one should,
through that anathema, regard the decrees of Chalcedon as
partially incorrect or as imperfect. These five fragments
run : —
1. Cum apud nos manifesta ratione praeclareat, qui-
cumque in contumeliam antefatae Synodi aliquid tentat agere,
sibi potius nociturum.
2. Item post alia : Sed si evidenter nobis fuisset
ostensum in ipsis gestis potius contineri, nullus auderet tantse
praesumptionis auctor existere, aut aliquid, quod in ilium
sanctissimum judicium productum est, velut dubium judicaret ;
cum credendum sit, illos tune prsesentes a prcesenti rerum
memoria dih'gentius, etiam praeter scriptum, aliqua requirere
vel definire certius potuisse, quod nobis nunc post tanta
tempora velut ignota causa videatur ambiguum ; cum et hoc
deferatur reverentise synodorum, ut et in his quae minus
intelliguntur, eorum cedatur auctoritati.1
3. Item post alia : Salvis omnibus atque in sua perpetua
firmitate durantibus, qua; in Nicseno, Constantinopolitano,
Ephesino primo, atque Chalcedonensi venerandis constat
conciliis definita, et prsedecessorum nostrorum auctoritate
firmata ; et cunctis, qui in memoratis sanctis conciliis abdicati
sunt, sine dubitatione damnatis ; et his nihilominus absolutis,
de quorum ab iisdem synodis absolutione decretum est.2
4. Item post alia : Anathematis sententiae eum quoque
subdentes, qui quaevis contra predictam Synodum Chalce-
donensem, vel prsesenti, vel quaelibet in hac causa sive a nobis
sive a quibuscumque gesta scriptave inveniantur, pro aliqua
1 As we do not know the connection in which this fragment stands, we
cannot easily ascertain its meaning. Vigilius probably said: "If they had
succeeded in showing that the anathema on the three chapters was implicitc
contained in that which happened at Chalcedon, no one would longer admit
this presumption, and regard as undecided (doubtful) what the Synod of Chalcedon
has settled, since the members of the Council of Chalcedon were able to examine
and decide much which was not put into writing (i.e. without its standing in
the Acts) which is now unknown to us and seems unsettled ; and since, more-
over, we owe reverence towards the Synods, even those of their conclusions
which are not fully known are to be respected.
2 The sense is: "All shall remain in force which the four Synods have
decreed, and the Popes have confirmed. All who were condemned by these
Synods remain condemned, and those who were acquitted remain acquitted."
susceperit firmitate ; et sancta Chalcedonensis Synodus, cujus
magna et inconcussa est firmitas, perpetua et veneranda,
sicut Nica3iia, Constantinopolitana, ac Ephesina prima habent,
suam teneant firmitatem.1
5. Item post alia : Anathematizamus et eum quoque, qui-
cumque sanctam Nicsenam, Constantinopolitanam, Ephesinam
primam, atque Chalcedonensem sanctissimas Synodos in una
et immaculata fide de Apostolis consonantes, et ab Apostolicae
sedis praesulibus roboratas, non et fideliter sequitur et
;equaliter veneratur; et qui ea quse in ipsis conciliis, quse
prefati sumus, gesta sunt, vult quasi prave dicta corrigere,
aut vult imperfecta supplere.2
From the letter of Vigilius to Kusticus and Sebastian we
learn that Kusticus, a nephew of the Pope and a deacon, his
attendant in Constantinople, at first extolled the Judicatum
to the echo, declared it to be quite excellent, and circulated
it without the knowledge or will of the Pope in many copies.3
The deacon Sebastian and other Eoman clerics who were
about the Pope had also at first approved of it; but they
afterwards went over to the other party of the Africans, and
offered the Pope such opposition, that he was obliged to
place them under anathema, which he did in the letter in
question.4
Significant for the point of view of Vigilius is his
utterance, three years later, on the aim and character of his
Judicatum, in the bull of excommunication against Theodore
Ascidas. He said that, " in order to remove present offence,
1 Sense: "We anathematise everyone who regards anything as of force,
which, either in the present edict or at any time, seems written by us or
by others in anyway against the Council of Chalcedon. This Synod, whose
solidity remains unshaken and permanent, must have the same force as the
Nicene," etc.
8 "We anathematise him also who does not faithfully adhere to the holy
Synods of Nicaea, Constantinople, Ephesus, and Chalcedon, which agree with
the apostolic doctrine, and have been confirmed by the Popes, or who does not
hold them all in equally high honour, or thinks to improve or complete any
part of them."
3 The Pope said that whoever wanted a copy of the Jiidicalum, should ask
for it of Mennas, to whom it was addressed. Mansi, I.e. p. 353 ; Hardouin,
/.<?. p. 177.
4 In Mansi, t. ix. p. 351 sqq. ; Hardouin, t. iii. p. 175 sqq.
IV. 17
258 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
he had condescended, in order to quiet men's minds, he had
relaxed the severity of right, and in accordance with the need
of the time had ordered things medicinally." l To the same
effect the Italian clergy about this time, that " Vigilius had
at first been unwilling to agree to the anathema on the three
chapters, but in consequence of negotiations (tractatu habito),
he had ordered the matter sub aliqua dispensatione, carefully
admonishing that the Synod of Chalcedon must in no way
suffer depreciation." 2 We can see that these clergy, as well
as Vigilius, proceeded on the supposition that nothing could
be undertaken against Theodore of Mopsuestia in particular,
as he had died more than a hundred years ago in the
communion of the Church, and had not been condemned by
the Council of Chalcedon. In the same way the reputation
of the two other men was not to be attacked, as the Synod
of Chalcedon had restored Theodoret and Ibas to their sees,
after they both had pronounced anathema on Nestorius,
without condemning the letter of the one, or certain writings
of the other. But as, on the other hand, the three Capitula
had given so great offence to many, and troubled the peace
of the Church, an anathema on them might be justified as a
remedy for the sickness of the time, and as a compromise,
since, objectively considered, the anathema on Theodore of
Mopsuestia and his writings, and also that on some writings
of Theodoret, and on the letter of Ibas, might be justified. If,
therefore, on the other hand, an anathema should be pro-
nounced over the really reprehensible three chapters, and, on
the other hand, should protect the authority of the Council
of Chalcedon in the most effectual manner, nothing wrong
would be done, and both parties would be satisfied. Cardinal
Noris therefore (I.e. t. L p. 595) remarks quite accurately:
" Et quidem utrique parti si fecisse satis Vigilius arbitra-
batur: Graecis, quod tria capitula condemnasset ; Latinis,
quod salva synodo Chalcedonensi id se fecisse contestaretur."
1 Maim, t. ix. p. 59; Hardouin, t. iii. p. 8: "Pro scandalo refrenando
condescendentes quorundam animis, quos aliqua dispensatione credimus temper-
andos, . . . qusedam pro tempore medicinaliter existiraavimus ordinanda."
Dispensatio=provida juris relaxatio. Cf. Du Cange, Thesawus, t. ii. p. 1545.
2 Mansi, t. ix. p. 153 ; Hardouin, t. iii. p. 47.
OPPOSITION TO THE JUDICATUM. 259
SEC. 260. Opposition to the Judicatum.
Soon after the publication of the Judicatum, the Empress
Theodora, the great enemy of the three chapters, died, June
28, 548 j1 but her death seems to have had no influence on
the progress of the controversy. That the Emperor Justinian
was not quite contented with the Judicatum, and demanded
a similar document from the Pope without the clause in
reference to the Council of Chalcedon, we are told by the
Italian clergy in their letter to the Frankish envoys. As,
however, no one else speaks of this, and the Emperor
Justinian was always a great admirer of the fourth
(Ecumenical Council, this intelligence deserves little credit;
and, moreover, the remark of Victor of Tununum rests upon
an anachronism, when he says ihat Justinian now issued new
commands against the three chapters.2 On the contrary, it is
certain that an energetic opposition to the Judicatum soon
arose, and Vigilius was bitterly blamed by many, and accused
of treachery. This happened principally in Constantinople
itself, where the Pope spent several years, because the
Emperor wished it, perhaps also because Eome had at that
very time fallen into the hands of the Goths. Prominent
among those who were dissatisfied with the Judicatum in
Constantinople were Bishop Dacius of Milan and Facundus
of Hermione. It is well known that the latter composed a
large work in twelve books in defence of the three chapters
and presented it to the Emperor, and the only question is as
to the time of its completion and presentation. Victor of
Tununum would place it in the eleventh year after the
consulate of Basil.3 According to the ordinary mode of
reckoning, the year 551 would be signified ; but, as Noris
has long ago excellently showed (I.e. t. L p. 652 sq.), Victor
follows another mode of reckoning. As is known, Basil was
the last consul in the year 541 ; but for a long time they
indicated the years following by his name. Accordingly the
1 Cf. observations of Ballerini in works of Noris, iv. 951.
- Victor. Tunun., Chron. ad ann. 548, in Galland. t. xii. p. 230.
8 In Galland. t. ii. p. 230. The text, "Eo tempore vii. Facundi-refulsere,"
is therefore to be corrected into, " Eo tempore xii. libri Facundi-refulsere."
260 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
year 542 must be called simply post Consulatum Basilii,
but the year 543, ann. ii. post Cons. Bas. Departing from
this manner of reckoning, Victor designates the year
542 as ann. ii. post Cons. Bas. (regarding it as the second
year of his enduring consulate), and thus, with him, ann. xi.
post Cons. Bas. is not identical with 551, but with 550.
But neither must we place the composition of the Defensio
trium capitulorum, by Facundus, in the year 550. Baronius
(ad ann. 547, n. 32) thinks that the whole contents of the
book point to the conclusion that it was completed before the
rupture of the author with the Pope, and thus before the
issuing of the Judicatum, and before Facundus took up a
schismatical position. In fact, Pope Vigilius is never
attacked in this Defensio, whilst, in his second treatise,
Contra Mocianum, Facundus falls upon him most violently.
Yet Baronius was partly wrong ; and the correct account of
the matter is, that half of the Defensio was composed before
the Judicatum', but the work was interrupted by the con-
ferences (sec. 259), and it was not until the end of these,
and so after the appearance of the Judicatum, which
followed directly after the conferences, that it was completed."
This completion, however, must not be brought so late as the
year 550, but rather to a period immediately after the
appearance of the Judicatum. Later on Facundus would
have written much more violently; but at that time the
tension between him and the Pope had not yet led to a
complete rupture. He still spared Vigilius, so that even in
the last books of the Defensio he did not refer to the
Judicatum, and he might then still hope to bring about an
agreement with the Emperor. At a later period he would
certainly have no longer cherished sanguine expectations of
this kind, and to such a later time belongs the composition of
his book, Contra Mocianum Scholasticum, which blamed the
African bishops because they had broken off communion with
Vigilius after the appearance of the Judicatum. In this
book Facundus attacks the Judicatum as a nefandum.1 He
had then, for the sake of his safety, fled from Constantinople,
and was in a place of concealment 2 known only to his friends.
1 Galland. t. xi. p. 816. 2 Ibid. p. 811.
OPPOSITION TO THE JUDICATUM. 261
The time of composition falls between the appearance of the
Judicatum and that of the Constitutum ; for by the latter, in
which he now defended the three chapters, Vigilius had
again propitiated Facundus. That the treatise in ques-
tion should not be removed to a still later period, when
Vigilius had anathematised the three chapters a second
time and confirmed the fifth Synod, we learn from the fact
that Facundus in the treatise is quite silent on this subject.
We learn from Vigilius himself that at an early period
some in Constantinople so strenuously opposed him and his
Judicatum, that he had been obliged to excommunicate them.
With these, he says, his own nephew, the deacon Rusticus
who had previously commended the Judicatum so highly,
secretly associated himself, and stirred up others against him
both in Constantinople and in Africa. When examined on
the subject he had, in writing, given his assurance on oath
never again wilfully to infringe his obedience to the Pope.
Nevertheless he had attached himself to the much worse
Eoman deacon Sebastian, who had likewise formerly com-
mended the Judicatum, and called it a heaven-descended
book. Both had cultivated intercourse with the monks
Lampridius and Felix, who, on account of their opposition to
the Judicatum, had already been excommunicated by the
general threat of excommunication contained in that docu-
ment, and also, with other excommunicated men, had
arrogated to themselves the teaching office, and had written
to all the provinces that " the Pope had done something to
the disparagement of the Council of Chalcedon."
By their position as Roman deacons it had become possible
to them to lead many astray, and thus through them such
confusions and party fights had arisen in different places
that blood had been shed in the churches. Further, they
had ventured to assert, in a memorial to the Emperor, that
Pope Leo I. had approved the heretical writings of the
Mopsuestian, etc. Vigilius had long tolerated this, and, in
priestly patience, had deferred their punishment (resecatio),
hoping that they would come again to reflection. As, how-
ever, they had despised his repeated exhortations, which he
had conveyed to them by bishops and other clergy, and by
262 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
layman of high standing, and had refused to return either to
the Church or to the Pope, he must now punish them, and
herewith depose them, until they amended, from the dignity
of the diaconate. In the same way the other Koman clerics
who had taken their side, John, Gerontius, Severinus, John,
and Deusdedit, should be deprived of their posts as sub-
deacons, notaries, and defensors until they began to amend.
The like judgment shall befall the monk (abbot) Felix,
already mentioned, who presided over the Gillitan convent in
Africa, and by his levity scattered his monks,1 and also all
those who would keep up communication with him or any
other excommunicated person, particularly with Rusticus and
the others.2
If this sentence of excommunication was sent forth after
March 18, 550, as we shall shortly show, we can also see:
(a) that, immediately after the appearance of the Judicatum,
some of those at Constantinople opposed the Pope so violently
that he was obliged to excommunicate them ; (&) that two
monks, Lampridius and Felix of Africa, came to Constantin-
ople and opposed the Judicatum by speech and by writing ;
(c) that the Pope's nephew Eusticus and other Roman clergy
joined these opponents, and circulated detrimental reports
concerning the Pope in all the provinces ; (d) that the Pope
gave them repeated warnings before proceeding to extremities ;
and that (e) in many provinces parties arose for and against
the Judicatum, and there arose between them bloody frays
even in the churches.
That Rusticus and Sebastian had, at a very early period,
occasioned movements in the province of Scythia, we see
from the Pope's letter to Bishop Valentinian of Tomi, dated
March 18, 550.3 The latter had given the Pope intelli-
gence respecting the rumours circulated in his province, and
the disturbances which had arisen, and Vigilius, in his answer,
1 On this Abbot Felix, cf. Gamier, Diss. de V. Synodo, in Schulze's edition
of the works of Theodoret of Cyrus, t. v. p. 562.
2 This brief of excommunication is in Mansi, t. ix. p. 351 sqq. ; Hardouin,
t. iii. p. 175 sqq.
3 On the date of this letter, cf. note 1, in Mansi, t. ix. p. 362, where, however,
instead of 749, we must read 549, and instead of 530, 550. Gamier, I.e. p. 563
would alter the date, but cf. Balleriui, I.e. t. iv. p. 1026 sq.
OPPOSITION TO THE JUDICATUM. 263
declares that it is entirely untrue that he had censured the
persons of Theodoret and I has, or generally that he had done
wrong to any of those bishops who had subscribed the Council
of Chalcedon. If his Judicatum to Mennas were read, it would
be shown that he had done or ordained nothing which was
contrary to the faith and the doctrine of the four venerable
Councils of Nicaea, Constantinople, Ephesus, and Chalcedon,
or the decrees of the earlier Popes. The originators of that
scandal which arose in Scythia, were Kusticus and Sebastian,
whom he had excommunicated some time ago, and who would
soon, unless they amended, receive the canonical punishment
(deposition from office).1 He requested Valentinian to warn
all connected with him against these promoters of disturb-
ances ; and if any had doubts, they might come personally to
the Pope.2
Archbishop Aurelian of Aries, as well as Valentinian of
Tomi, had written to the Pope in the year 549.3 Occasion
for this also was given by the accusation, circulated in Gaul,
that the Pope had done something which contradicted the
decrees of his predecessors, and the creed of the four
(Ecumenical Councils. Vigilius quieted him on this subject,
and appointed him to be his vicar in Gaul,4 to warn all the
other bishops against false anoj. lying rumours. He adds that
he will explain to Aurelian, as far as possible, all that has
happened, through Anastasius, whom Aurelian had sent with
his letter to Constantinople ; and further, that when the
Emperor allows him to return to Eome, he will send from
thence a special envoy to Aries. Meanwhile let Aurelian
unceasingly petition Childebert, king of the Franks, that he
would apply to the King of the Goths (Totilas), who had
1 Pagi, ad ann. 550, n. 5, properly infers from this that the Pope had pro-
nounced the excommunication of Rusticus and the others a considerable time
before March 1 8, 550 (the date of the present letter), but the deposition later.
Gamier, on the contrary (I.e. p. 562), places the latter in the year 549.
2 Mansi, t. ix. p. 359 ; Hardouin, t. iii. p. 181.
3 Pridie Idus Julias the Pope received Aurelian's letter, and despatched his
answer, April 29, 550. Accordingly we must understand that the Idus Julias
belonged to 549. Gamier (I.e. p. 563) would alter the date.
4 Two earlier letters of Vigilius, in which he appoints Aurelian, after the
death of Auxanius, the previous bishop of Aries, to be his vicar in Gaul, are
found in Mansi, t ix. p. 46 sq.
264 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
taken the city of Eome, on behalf of the Eoman Church
and its rights.1
Still more violent than in Gaul and Scythia was the
opposition to the Judicatum in Illyria, Dalmatia, and Africa.
That the bishops of Dalmatia did not receive the Judicatum,
we learn from the letter of the Italian clergy,2 already fre-
quently quoted. The Illyrian bishops, however, according to
the account given by Bishop Victor of Tununum, assembled in
a Synod in the year 549, according to his corrected chronology,
already noted. Where this Synod was held is not known ;
but the bishops declared themselves for the three chapters,
addressed a document in defence of them to the Emperor, and
deposed their Metropolitan Benenatus from Justiniana I.,
because he defended the rejection of the three chapters.3
The Africans went still further, and at their Synod, A.D. 550,
under the presidency of Eeparatus of Carthage, formally
excommunicated Pope Vigilius on account of the Judicatum
until he should do penance. They also sent memorials in
favour of the three chapters, through the Magistrian Olympius,
to the Emperor.4 The latter found the matter of such import-
ance, that he addressed rescripts to the Illyrians and Africans,
in which he defended the anathema on the three chapters.
They are lost ; but we gain information respecting them in
Isidore of Seville.5
1 Mansi, t. ix. p. 361 sqq. ; Hardouin, t. iii. p. 183 sqq. From a letter of
the Italian clergy to the Frankish envoys (Mansi, I.e. p. 155 ; Hardouin, I.e.
p. 50, cf. below, sec. 264), we learn that this Anastasius was not allowed to
return to his home for more than two years, until after he had promised to per-
suade the Gallican bishops to pronounce anathema on the three chapters.
These Italian clergy maintain that the Pope (probably later, A.D. 551, when he
would no longer condemn the three chapters) wanted to forward another letter
by Anastasius to Bishop Aurelian of Aries, but the Emperor would not allow it,
and he was permitted to send only the letter from which we have made extracts
(which the Italian clergy characterised in general).
2 Mansi, t. ix. p. 153 ; Hardouin, t. iii. p. 47.
3 Victor. Tunun., ad ann. 549, in Galland. t. xii. p. 230. The Emperor
Justinian founded on the site of a village at Tauresium iii Dardania Europcea a
splendid city, which he named Justiniana i., and which became in 541 also an
ecclesiastical metropolis ; cf. Noris, I.e. t. i. p. 599.
4 Victor. Tunun., ad ann. 550, I.e.
5 Isidor. Hispal., De Scriptorilnts ecclesiasiicis, in Fabricii LibliotJicca Eccles.
pt. ii. p. 54.
THE JUDICATUM IS WITHDRAWN. 265
SEC. 261. The Judicatum is urithdraum, and a great Synod
proposed.
For the appeasing of the disputes which had arisen over
the Judicatum, the Pope and Emperor, about the year 550,
agreed, first, to withdraw the Judicatum, and further, to have
the question of the three chapters decided anew by a great
Synod. The Emperor therefore gave leave to Vigilius to
withdraw the Judicatum, and it was decided in consultation
between the two, in which also Mennas, Dacius of Milan,
and many Greek and Latin bishops took part, that, before the
decision of the Synod which was to be called, no one should
be allowed to undertake anything further for or against the
three chapters. This is related by Vigilius himself in the
edict against Theodore Ascidas.1 The Italian clergy, how-
ever, tell us, besides, that Vigilius demanded that five or six
bishops should be summoned from each province, and ex-
plained, that only that which should then be peacefully
determined in common should prevail, since he, for his own
part, would do nothing whereby, as people said, the credit of
the Synod of Chalcedon should be called in question.2 He
thus took back, formally at least, his Judicatum ; but, that
he might not give it up materially, nor oppose the Emperor
at the coming Synod, he took an oath to him in writing, on
the 15th of August 550, to the effect that he would be of
one mind with the Emperor, and labour to the utmost to
have the three chapters anathematised ; whilst, on the other
hand, for the security of the Pope, this oath should be kept
secret, and the Emperor should promise to protect him in
case of necessity.3
SEC. 262. Synod at Mopmestia, A.D. 550.
In preparation for the intended great Council, the
1 Mansi, t. ix. p. 59 ; Hardouiu, t. iii. p. 8.
2 Mansi, I.e. p. 153; Harden in, I.e. p. 47.
8 This oath is printed in Mansi, I.e. p. 363 ; Hardouiu, I.e. p. 184. The
Ballerini oppose the genuineness of the document in question (Noris, Opp. t. iv.
p. 1037 sqq.). Cf. Walch, Kctzcrhist. Bd. viii. S. 192 sq.
266 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
Emperor caused a kind of Synod of the bishops of Cilicia n.
to be held at Mopsuestia, in order to ascertain whether the
name of Theodore of Mopsuestia had been entered on the
diptychs there. The Acts of this Synod are found in the
minutes of the fifth session of the fifth (Ecumenical Synod,
at which they were read.1 The first document referring to
this assembly is the letter of the Emperor Justinian, dated
May 23, 550 (not May 13, as Noris gives it), to Bishop John
of Justinianopolis,2 metropolitan of Cilicia n., to the effect
that he would come to Mopsuestia to meet the bishops
belonging to his Synod, and then have a meeting with all the
aged people there, clergy and laity, in order to learn whether
they could remember the time at which the name of
Theodore had been struck from the diptychs. If they could
not do this, they might declare that, in their knowledge, the
name of Theodore had never been read out at divine service ;
finally, the diptychs were to be exhibited in their presence,
and in the presence of the bishops, in order to see who had
been inscribed in them instead of Theodore. A messenger
with intelligence of the result of this inquiry should be sent
to the Emperor, and another to the Pope3.
The Emperor sent Bishop Cosmas of Mopsuestia infor-
mation of this command given to the metropolitan, with
commissions referring to it. This second document is dated
May 22, 550. The Acts of the Synod of Mopsuestia are
appended to it, the Synod being held June 17, 550, in the
Secretarium of the church there, under the presidency of the
metropolitan named, and in presence of eight other bishops
and many other distinguished men. The office of imperial
commissioner was discharged by the Comes domesticorum,
Marthanius. The holy Gospels were placed in the middle of
the place of assembly, and first of all the command of the
Emperor was read. Thereupon the Defensor of the Church
of Mopsuestia, the deacon Eugenius, presented seventeen
1 Mausi, t. ix. pp. 274-289 ; Hardouin, t. iii. pp. 123-134. Cf. Noris, t. i.
p. 605 sqq.
- The ancient Auazarbus, destroyed by an earthquake, but rebuilt by the
Emperor Justinian, had recently received the name of Justinianopolis.
3 Mansi, I.e. p. 274 ; Hardouin, i.e. p. 123.
SYNOD AT MOPSUESTIA, A.D. 550. 267
aged priests and deacons, and the same number of aged lay-
men of distinction (among them comites and pcdatini) from
Mopsuestia ; and the Gustos of the church effects, the priest
John, brought in the diptychs, as well those which were
then used in the church as two older which had formerly
been used. These diptychs were first publicly read, then
each bishop read them individually, and then the presbyter
John took oath that he knew of none besides or older than
these. In the same way the aged witnesses were required to
make declarations on oath, laying their hands upon the book
of the Gospels.
The first and oldest, the priest Martyrius, declared : " I
am now eighty years old, for sixty years in Orders, and do
not know and have never heard that Theodore's name was
read from the diptychs ; l but I heard that, instead of his
name, that of S. Cyril of Alexandria had been inscribed, and
the name of Cyril does, in fact, occur in the present diptychs,
although there never was a Bishop Cyril of Mopsuestia. The
Theodore, however, whose name is found in two diptychs, in
the place before the last, is certainly not the older one, but
the bishop of Mopsuestia who died only three years ago, and
who was a native of Galatia." The like was deposed by all
the other witnesses, clergy and laymen ; whereupon the
bishops, in somewhat prolix discourse, brought together the
results of these testimonies and of the examination of the
diptychs, namely, that at a time beyond the memory of any
living man, the Theodore in question had been struck from
the diptychs, and Cyril of Alexandria inscribed in his place.
This declaration was subscribed by all the bishops, and also the
two documents required of them for the Emperor and Pope,
in which they communicated the principal contents of the
minutes of the Synod.2
1 Accordingly the name of Theodore could no longer have stood in the
diptychs in the youth of the martyr, i.e. about A. D. 480.
a Mansi, I.e. pp. 275-289 ; Hardouin, I.e. pp. 124-134. The Libellus
Synodicus (Mansi, I.e. p. 150, and Hardouin, t. v. p. 1534) relates that the
bishops had assembled at Mopsuestia, and had asked the clergy there and the
aged laity whether the name of Theodore had ever stood in the diptychs ; that
this was affirmed, and the bishops now informed Vigilius of it. From hence
Gamier infers (I.e. p. 551), certainly without justification, that there were at
268 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
SEC. 262B. Tlie African Deputies.
About the same time the Emperor summoned the bishops
of Illyricum and Africa for the contemplated great Synod at
Constantinople. The Illyrians refused to come.1 From
Africa, however, appeared, as deputies of the collective
episcopate, Eeparatus, archbishop of Carthage; Firmus,
primate, or primes sedis Episcopus, of Numidia ; and Bishops
Primasius and Verecundus, from the province of Byzacene.
Soon Greek bishops endeavoured, by flatteries and threats, to
gain them over to subscribe the anathema on the chapters.
As this remained without result, Reparatus of Carthage was
blamed, as being the cause of the imperial Magister militum
in Africa, Areobindus, a relative of the Emperor, being
murdered by the usurper Guntarit (Gontharis 2) ; and upon
this accusation Reparatus was deprived of his office and
property, and was banished. At the same time, by imperial
authority, the faithless representative of the deposed bishop,
Primasius (who is not to be confounded with the bishop of
the same name mentioned above), was placed on the throne
of Carthage, in an uncanonical manner, during the lifetime
of Reparatus, against the wishes of the clergy and laity, after
he had condemned the three chapters. His intrusion was not
carried through without effusion of blood.
The second African deputy, the Primate Firmus of
Numidia, allowed himself to be bribed by presents, and
subscribed the required anathema, but died on the return
that time two Synods held at Mopsuestia : the one called by the Emperor, in
order to prove that Theodore's name had been struck from the diptychs ; the
other ordered by the Pope, in order to show that the name had once stood in
the diptychs. Cf. on the other side the Defensio of the Ballerini, in their
edition of the works of Cardinal Noris, t. iv. p. 1024.
1 Mansi, I.e. p. 153 ; Hardouin, I.e. p. 47.
- Reparatus was innocent. Gontharis, Lieutenant-General of Areobindus,
and commander in Numidia, had rebelled and set up as Regent of Africa.
Areobindus fled with his family into a monastery. The usurper, however, sent
Bishop Reparatus to Areobindus, to convey to him a sworn promise of safety,
and to invite him to return to Carthage. Reparatus accomplished the com-
mission bond fide ; Areobindus left his asylum, and was received at his table by
Gontharis, but was afterwards murdered. Procop., De Bella Vandalico, lib. ii.
cc. 25 and 26 in the Bonn edition of the Byzantines, Pars ii. vol. i. pp.
515-522 ; Baronius, ad ann. 545, n. 21; Noris, I.e. t. i. p. 614.
THE SECOND EDICT AGAINST THE THREE CHAPTERS. 269
journey to the sea a disgraceful death. His colleague,
Piimasius, of the Byzacene province, was at first steadfast,
and was therefore sent into a monastery ; but afterwards,
when Boethius, the primate of the Byzacene province, had
died, he agreed to sign the anathema on the three chapters, in
order to become his successor. He returned to Africa and
oppressed and plundered the bishops of the opposite party,
until at last the merited punishment overtook him, and he
was forced to give up all his unrighteous possessions, and
died a miserable death.
Finally, the fourth African deputy, Bishop Verecundus, on
account of his adhesion to the three chapters, was forced
subsequently to flee with Pope Vigilius to Chalcedon, and
take refuge in the Church of S. Euphemia, where he also
died. The governor of Africa, moreover, sent all those
bishops whom he had discovered to be willing to receive a
bribe, or to be otherwise perverted, to Constantinople, in
order that they might subscribe the condemnation of the
three chapters.1
SEC. 263. The Second Imperial Edict against the Three Chapters.
How little the Emperor and his party really wanted a new
synodal examination of the whole question is shown not only
by what has already been mentioned, but also by the strange
conduct of Theodore Ascidas. In the harshest contradiction
to the union between the Pope and Emperor already men-
tioned (sec. 261), at his suggestion a document was read
aloud in the imperial palace, in which the three chapters
were anathematised, and to which the subscriptions of several
Greek bishops were demanded. Vigilius remonstrated on the
subject with him and his friends, and they asked forgiveness
with specious excuses. In spite of this, Theodore Ascidas
circulated that document still more widely, irritated the
Emperor, and made him discontented with Vigilius, and
brought it about that, without waiting for the Synod, edicts
1 We obtain this information from Victor. Tunun. I.e. (Galland. t xii. p.
230), and from the letter of the Italian clergy in Mansi, t. ix. p. 153 sq. ;
Hardouin, t. iii. p. 47.
270 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
were drawn up, containing an anathema on the three chapters.
Vigilius himself tells this ; l and the new edicts in question
were certainly nothing else, in several places, than passages
taken from the complete opoXoyia 7rt<rreo><? 'lovvrivtavov
avTotcpdropos Kara rwv rpiwv /ce^aXauuv. This second edict
of the Emperor against the three chapters was drawn up
between 551 and 553, probably in the year 551, was
addressed to the whole of Christendom, and is still extant.2
Nothing is so calculated, the Emperor says, to propitiate the
gracious God, as unity in the faith ; therefore he lays down
here the orthodox confession. Then follows a kind of creed,
in which, first, the doctrine of the Trinity, principally in
opposition to Sabellius and Arius, is defined ; but much more
completely is the doctrine of the Person of Christ explained,
in opposition to the Nestorians and Monophysites. For
example, " He who was born of Mary is one of the Holy
Trinity, according to His Godhead of one substance with the
Father, and according to His manhood of one substance with
us, capable of suffering in the flesh, but incapable of suffering
in the Godhead ; and no other than the Word of God sub-
jected Himself to sufferings and death. It is not one Word
(Logos) that worked miracles, and another Christ who suffered ;
but one and the same Lord Jesus Christ, the Word of God,
became flesh and man. ... If we say that Christ is composed
(o-vvOeros) of two natures, Godhead and manhood, we bring
no confusion (ffvyxvais) into this unity (evwa-is), and since
we recognise in each of the two natures the one Lord Jesus
Christ, the Word of God made man, we bring no separation
nor partition nor division into the one personality ; but we
designate the natures of which HE is composed, and this
difference is not denied by the evcoa-is, since each of the two
natures is in Him. . . . The divine nature is not changed
into the human, nor the human into the divine ; rather,
whilst each remains within its bounds, the unity of personality
(hypostatic unity) is produced by the Logos. This hypostatic
unity means that God the Word, this one Hypostasis (Person)
of the Trinity, united Himself not with a previously existing
1 Mansi, I.e. p. 59 sq. ; Hardouin, I.e. p. 8 sq.
2 Mansi, I.e. pp. 537-582 ; Hardouin, I.e. pp. 287-322.
THE SECOND EDICT AGAINST THE THREE CHAPTERS. 271
man, but in the body of the blessed Virgin, HE took flesh
for Himself of her own person, animated by the reasonable
and rational soul, — and this is human nature. This hypo-
statical union of the Word with flesh is taught also by the
Apostle Paul. . . . Hence we acknowledge two births of the
Logos : the one from all eternity of the Father, incorporeal ;
the other in the last days, when HE became flesh and man
from the holy God-bearer (Gearo/cos). . . . He is Son of
God by nature, we are so by grace ; He has, for our sakes
and KO.T oUovofiiav, become a Son of Adam, whilst we are
by nature sons of Adam. . . . Even after the Incarnation
HE is one of the Holy Trinity, the only-begotten Son of
God, our Lord Jesus Christ, composed (o-vvderos) of both
natures. This is the doctrine of the Fathers. . . . Con-
fessing this, we accept also the expression of Cyril, that there
is pta <f)v<Ti<; TOV Oeov \6yov aecapKw^evir], . . . for as often
as he used the expression, he made use of the word <j>v<ns in
the sense of uTroo-Tao-t?, for in the books in which this mode
of speech occurs, he speedily uses again, instead of this, the
expressions Xtxyo? and wo? and povoyevr)? (as identified with
pia (f>vo~i<; TOV Oeov \6yov <r€o~apKa)fj,€vi>)), and thereby indicates
the Person or Hypostasis, and not the Nature. . . . And he who
confesses Christ as God and as man, cannot possibly say that
there is only one nature or substance (ovata) in Him. That
Cyril, in those places, really took <£wrt5 in the sense of
person, is shown by his two letters to Succensus and the
thirteenth chapter of his Scholia. . . . Christ is thus one
Hypostasis or Person, and HE has in Himself the perfection
of the divine and uncreated nature, and the perfection of the
human and created nature."
Further, those are combated who, misusing a simile of the
Fathers, would teach only one nature of Christ. Some Fathers,
particularly Athanasius, had compared the union of the God-
head and manhood in Christ with the union of body and soul
in man. Then the Monophysites said : As body and soul
constitute only one human nature, so the Godhead and man-
hood in Christ also combine into one nature. On the
contrary, the imperial edict declares : " If there were only one
nature in Christ, then were it necessary that HE should be
272 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
either without flesh, and only of one substance with God, or
pure man, and only of one substance with us ; or that the
united natures should constitute one new nature different from
both ; but then Christ would be neither God nor man, and
consubstantial neither with God nor with us. Such an assump-
tion, however, were impious."
Another objection of the Monophysites ran : We must
not assume a number of natures in Christ, otherwise we
should bring in a division in Christ, which would be Nestorian.
To this the imperial edict replied : " If there was a reference
to a number of different persons, then this would imply a
division into parts ; but if we speak of a number in united
objects, the division is made only in thought, as, for example,
in the distinction of soul and body in the unity of the human
person. There, too, there are two <£ucm?, that of the soul and
that of the body, but the man is not thereby himself divided
into two. So in Christ we have to recognise a number of
natures, but not a number of persons.
This is proved from Gregory of Nazianzus, from Cyril, and
from Gregory of Nyssa, and then the difference between <j>v<ri<;
( = ovtria) and vTroorao-t? is explained, particularly in the Holy
Trinity. " We may therefore," the Emperor proceeds, " speak
of one compound Hypostasis (Person) of God the Word (Sia
TOV ewtre/Sw? CITTOI TIS av fiiav vTroa-raa'iv rov 0eov \6yov
ffvvBerov), but not of one composed of one nature. The
nature is, in itself, something indefinite (aopia-Tov), it must
inhere in a person. When, however, they say : The human
nature in Christ must also have its own personality, this is
as much as to say that the Logos has become united with a
man already existing by himself; but two persons cannot
become one. . . . Whoever says that before the union there
were two natures, like Theodore of Mopsuestia and Nestorius,
means that there was first a man formed, and then he was
united with the Logos. But whoever says that after the
union we must no longer speak of two, but only of one nature
of Christ, introduces a o-vyxycrts and $>avra<rla, like Apol-
linaris and Eutyches. Before the Incarnation there were not
two Lords, and after the Incarnation there is not merely
one nature." The four (Ecumenical Synods, including that of
THE SECOND EDICT AGAINST THE THREE CHAPTERS. 273
Chalcedon, are then adduced, and then the edict goes on :
" As this is the truth, we will append /ce</>a\ata, which con-
tain in brief the true faith and the condemnation of heretics."
The principal contents of these are as follows : —
1. Whoever does not confess the Father, Son, and Spirit
as one Godhead or nature, to be worshipped in three hypos-
tases or persons, let him be anathema.
2. Whoever does not confess that the eternal Son of
God was made man, and so had two births, an eternal and a
temporal, let him be anathema.
3. Whoever says that the wonder-working Logos is
another than the suffering Christ, and that the Logos united
Himself with one born of a woman, and is not one Lord, etc.,
let him be anathema.
4. Whoever does not confess an hypostatical union of
the Logos with the flesh, piav avrov rrjv vTrocrraciv crvv-
Oerov, but, like Nestorius, merely a union of the Godhead and
manhood, tcara ^dpiv, or, as the heretic Theodore of Mopsuestia
says, Kara evSotciav, let him be anathema.
5. Whoever does not name Mary the Godbearer in the
full sense, let him be anathema.
6. Whoever does not confess that the crucified Christ
is true God and One of the Holy Trinity, let him be anathema.
7. Whoever accepts two natures but not one Lord, but
allows a Staipecrt? ava fiepos, as if each nature were a proper
hypostasis, like Theodore and Nestorius, let him be anathema.
8. Whoever, speaking of two natures in Christ, assumes
not merely a Stafopa rfj dewpia, but a numerical division
into parts (Siatpecriv ava pepo?), let him be anathema.
9. Whoever, speaking of a put 0ucrt? rov 0eov \6yov
aecrapKoifjievrj, does not understand this so that of the divine
and human natures there has come one Christ, but that God-
head and manhood coalesced into one nature, like Apollinaris
and Eutyches, let him be anathema.
10. The Catholic Church anathematises both those who
separate and those who mix (Siaipovvra? icai o-iry^eovras).
Whoever does not anathematise Arius, Eunomius, Macedonius,
Apollinaris, Nestorius, and Eutyches, and all who teach as
they do, let him be anathema.
iv. 1 8
274 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
11. Whoever defends Theodore of Mopsuestia, who says :
(a) That God the Word is one, and another is the Christ
tormented by sufferings of the soul and eViflu/Awj? TT}<? o-a/o/co?,
Who grew in virtue, was baptized in the Name of the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Ghost, through baptism received the
grace of the Holy Spirit and Sonship, and is reverenced as
the image of God the Word, like the image of an Emperor,
and after the resurrection became unchangeable in disposition
and quite sinless ; (6) who (Theodore) further says : The union
of God the Word with Christ is of the same kind, according to
the Apostle Paul (Eph. v. 31), as that between man and wife,
the two become one flesh ; (c) who, besides countless other
blasphemies, dared also to say : When the Lord, after the
resurrection, breathed upon the disciples with the words :
"Eeceive the Holy Ghost" (S. John xv. 28), He had given
them not the Holy Ghost Himself, but breathed upon them
°"%7?AtaTt povov (only to point to the Holy Ghost) ; (d) he
said further: The words which Thomas, after feeling Him,
spoke : " My Lord and my God" (S. John xx. 28), had refer-
ence not to Christ, but to God who raised Christ up ; (e) and,
what is worse, in his commentary on the Acts of the Apostles,
Theodore compares Christ with Plato, Manichaeus, Epicurus,
and Marcion, and says that, as each of these invented his
own doctrine, and thus gave to his disciples the name of
Platonists, Manichseans, etc., in the same way Christians were
named after Christ, who invented a new doctrine. Whoever
defends Theodore thus blaspheming, and does not anathematise
him and his adherents, let him be anathema.
12. Whoever defends those writings of Theodoret,
which he composed in opposition to the right faith, against
the Synod of Ephesus, and against Cyril and his twelve
anathematisms, and in which Theodoret teaches and maintains
only a o-^ert/c?) ez/&><u<? of the Word with a man, saying that
Thomas had touched the Eisen One, but adored Him who
raised Him up ; and in which he calls the teachers of the
Church impious because they maintain an hypostatic union,
and finally refuses to call the Virgin Mary the Godbearer, —
whoever defends these writings of Theodore, and does not
rather anathematise them, let him be anathema. For, on
THE SECOND EDICT AGAINST THE THREE CHAPTERS. 275
account of these blasphemies, he was deposed from his
bishopric, and was subsequently compelled by the holy
Synod of Chalcedon to maintain the opposite of these writ-
ings of his, and to confess the true faith.
13. Whoever defends the impious letter which Ibas is
said to have written to the Persian heretic Maris, in which
the Incarnation of the Logos is denied, and it is maintained
that not God the Word, but a mere man, named Temple, was
born of Mary ; in which, moreover, the first Synod of Ephesus
is reviled, as though it had condemned Nestorius without
examination and judgment ; in which, finally, S. Cyril is called
a heretic, and his twelve propositions designated as impious, —
whoever defends this impious letter, and in whole or in part
declares it to be right, and does not anathematise it, let him
be anathema.
The edict then proceeds thus : " The adherents of
Theodore and Nestorius maintain that this letter was accepted
by the holy Council of Chalcedon. They thus do injustice to
the holy Synod, and endeavour thereby to protect Theodore,
Nestorius, and the impious letter from anathema, the letter
which Ibas, when often questioned on the subject, never
ventured to acknowledge as his. Thus, e.g., Ibas at Tyre
(more correctly, at Berytus, see sees. 196 and 169) declared,
that, since the union of the Antiochenes with Cyril, he had
never written anything against the latter, whilst, in fact, the
letter to Maris is plainly composed after that union, and is
full of insults against Cyril. Ibas thus denied the author-
ship. His judges (at Tyre and Berytus) therefore demanded
that he should take action against that letter (i.e. anathe-
matise Nestorius, etc.) ; and, as he did not comply, he was
deposed, and Nonnus raised to his place.1 When Ibas was
subsequently again accused at Chalcedon, he did not venture
to acknowledge that letter, but, immediately after its being
read, said that he was far from that which was imputed 2 to
1 We have already seen (sec. 196) that Ibas was declared innocent at Tyre.
But he was deposed at the Robber-Synod. On Nonnus, see sec. 196.
2 The Emperor concludes from this that Ibas did not acknowledge the letter
as his ; but he certainly meant only to declare the other accusations as false.
The passage is in Mansi, t. vii. p. 250 ; Hardouin, t. ii. p. 531.
276 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
him as an offence ; but the Synod, not satisfied with this
denial of the letter, compelled him to do the reverse of that
which was contained in the letter, namely, confess the true
faith, accept the Synod of Ephesus, agree with S. Cyril, and
anathematise Nestorius. It was therefore impossible that
the Synod of Chalcedon should have approved of that letter.
Even when in this letter mention is made of two natures and
one Dynamis, one Prosopon, even here there is a mixture of
the impiety of the author. Here, as in other writings, he
regards the natures as hypostatised, but the ev trpoawirov he
refers to the unity of dignity and honour. That his opinions
generally are heretical, he shows at the end of the letter,
where he says : We must thus believe in the Temple, and in
Him Who dwells in the Temple. . . . Like Him, Nestorius
also united with expressions of orthodox sound an heretical
meaning. . . . We, however, in all ways following the
doctrine of the Fathers, have set forth as well the union of the
two natures, of which our Lord Jesus Christ, one of the Trinity,
the incarnate Word of G-od, is composed, as the difference
(Bia(f>opa) of these natures, which is not removed by that union.
" That would suffice, but the opponents also maintain that
the letter of Ibas itself should not be rejected, because it is
found in some copies of the Acts of Chalcedon. This objec-
tion is invalid, for we also find in the Acts of the Council
passages from Nestorius and others. Besides, this letter is
not found in the authentic Acts of Chalcedon ; l and besides,
anything brought forward by this or that member of a Synod
has no force, but only that which is decreed by the assembly.2
Whilst, further, some rejected the writings of Theodore of
Mopsuestia as impious, but would not anathematise his
person, this is contrary to the word of Holy Scripture, which
says : ' For the ungodly and his ungodliness are both alike
hateful unto God' (Wisd. xiv. 9). When, however, they
say that Theodore should not be anathematised after his
death, they must know, that a heretic who persists in error
until his end, is rightly punished in this manner for ever,
1 It is found complete in the Acts we now possess. See sec. 196.
2 An allusion to some utterances let fall at Chalcedon in favour of the letter.
See sees. 196 and 258.
THE SECOND EDICT AGAINST THE THKEE CHAPTERS 277
and even after his death, as it happened with Valentinus,
Basilides, and others. . . . But that Theodoret was anathe-
matised even in his lifetime, is shown distinctly by the
letter of Ibas (sec. 196). They say further, that he should
not be anathematised, because he died in Church communion.
But only those die properly in Church communion who hold
fast the common faith of the Church until the end ; and the
Mopsuestians themselves, as the Synod there (recently)
showed, had long ago struck Theodore from the diptychs.
Even Judas had communicated with the apostles, notwith-
standing which the apostles rejected him after his death, and
elected another in his place. . . .
" When they further adduce, in favour of Theodore, that
Cyril had once commended him, this by itself proves nothing,
for there are other heretics, who, before they were properly
known, had been commended by holy Fathers, e.g. Eutyches
by Leo, and besides, Cyril had, in many other places,
expressed the strongest condemnation of Theodore. The
allegation was false that Chrysostom and Gregory of Nazi-
anzus had written letters full of the praise of Theodore.
Gregory's letter referred, not to Theodore of Mopsuestia, but
to Theodore of Tyana ; and the letter of Chrysostom is not full
of praise, but full of blame, because Theodore had left the
monastic life. If, then, John of Antioch and an Oriental
Synod commended Theodore, these men had also (at Ephesus)
condemned Cyril and defended Nestorius. Finally, we must
refer to S. Augustine. When, after the death of Cecilian, it
was maintained that he had done something contrary to
ecclesiastical order, and some (the Donatists) had separated
themselves from the Church on that account, Augustine
wrote to Boniface (Epist. 185, n. 4), 'If that were true
which was charged against Cecilian, I should anathematise
him even after his death.' Moreover, a canon of the African
Synod requires that bishops who bequeath their property to
a heretic, shall be anathematised even after their death (see
sec. 84, c. 15). Further, Dioscums was anathematised by
the Church in Old Koine after his death, although he had
not offended against the faith,1 but on account of a violation
1 Not Dioscurus of Alexandria, but the antipope of that name, A.D. 530.
278 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
of ecclesiastical order. . . . Whoever, after this true con-
fession and this condemnation of heretics, . . . separates
himself from the Church, as though our piety consisted only
in names and expressions, has to give account, for himself
and for those led astray by him, on the day of judgment, to
the great God and our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen."
SEC. 264. Protest, Persecution, and two Fl'ights of tlu Pope.
After issuing this imperial edict, a great conference was
held in the residence of the Pope, the Placidia Palace.
Greek and Latin bishops of different neighbourhoods, and the
priests, deacons, and clerics of Constantinople, were present.
Even Theodore Ascidas was present.1 Both Vigilius and
Dacius of Milan warned them against receiving the new
imperial edict ; and the former, in particular, said : " Beseech
the pious Emperor to withdraw the edicts which he has had
drawn up, and await the (projected) ecumenical decree on
the matter in question, until the Latin bishops, who have
taken offence (at the condemnation of the three chapters),
shall be either personally present at a Synod, or send their
votes in writing. If he should not listen to your petitions,
then you ought to give your assent to nothing which tends
to a rending of the Church. If, however, you should do so,
which I do not believe, you must know that, from that day,
you are excommunicated from the apostolic see of Peter." 2
In a similar sense spoke Bishop Dacius of Milan : " I and a
part of those bishops in whose neighbourhood my church lies,
namely, from Gaul, Burgundy, Spain, Liguria, Emilia, and
Venetia, testify that whoever assents to those edicts, loses the
Church communion of the bishops of the forenamed provinces,
because I am convinced that those edicts infringe the sacred
Synod of Chalcedon and the Catholic faith." 3
1 So relates Vigilius in his Damnatio Theodori (Ascidas), in Mansi, t. ix.
p. 60 ; Hardouin, t. iii. p. 9.
2 So relates Vigilius in his Encyclica, Mansi, t. ix. p. 50 sq. ; Hardouin,
t. iii. p. 3.
3 This speech of Dacius is preserved in the letter which the Italian clergy
addressed to the Frankish envoys who were going to Constantinople. In
Mansi, t. ix. p. 154 ; Hardouin, t. iii. p. 49.
PROTEST, PERSECUTION, AND FLIGHTS OF THE POPE. 279
Vigilius writes that not only was the edict not withdrawn,
but that, on the very same day, something more vexatious
was done, in opposition to all ecclesiastical rules, and with
infringement of the apostolic see.1 What he means by this
we learn from his Damnatio Theodori (I.e.), namely, that
Ascidas, with the other bishops whom he drew after him, in
opposition to the express papal command, went into the
church in which the edict was published, there celebrated the
Missarum solennia, by their arbitrary authority struck from
the diptychs Bishop Zoilus of Alexandria (certainly in
partnership with Mennas) because he would not condemn
the three chapters,2 and declared a certain Apollinaris as
bishop of Alexandria. The Pope, therefore, excommunicated
him in the middle of July 5 5 1.3 The Emperor became now
so embittered against Vigilius and Dacius, that they, fearing
for liberty and life, fled (in August 551) into the Basilica of
S. Peter at Constantinople, named in Ormisda, when the
Pope, August 14, 551, confirmed in his writing his previous
declaration,4 and on the 17th of this month pronounced the
deposition of Ascidas, who had been excommunicated thirty
days before, and a sentence of excommunication on his
adherents, especially Mennas, ex persona et auctoritate beati
Petri apostoli, as he says, and in communion with the
Western bishops who were staying with him (likewise in the
Basilica of S. Peter), namely, Dacius of Milan, John of
Marsicus, Zacchaeus of Squilaci, Valentinus of Silva Candida,
Florentius of Matelica, Julian of Siani, Eomulus of
Numentus or Numana, Dominions of Calliopoli, Stephen
of Eimini, Paschasius of Aletro, Jordan of Cortona,
Primasius of Adrumetum, and Verecundus of Juncee.6
The last two we have already met (sec. 262s) as depu-
1 In the Encyclica, in Mansi, t. ix. p. 51 ; Hardouin, t. iii. p. 3.
2 Victor. Ttinun. ad ann. 551, in Galland. t. xii. p. 230.
3 This date is clear, since Vigilius in his Damnatio Theodori says, on the
1 7th of August, that he had "excommunicated Theodori forty days before."
Mansi, t. ix. p. 60 sq. ; Hardouin, t. iii. p. 9 sq.
4 Mansi, t. ix. p. 51 ; Hardouin, t. iii. p. 3.
5 Mansi, t. ix. p. 60 ; Hardouin, t. iii. p. 9 ; Noris, I.e. t. i. p. 622 sqq.
Punkes shows (Papst Vigilius, etc. S. 91) that in Text B, Verecundus is
wrongly designated as Nicensis.
280 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
ties of the African episcopate ; all the others were from
Italy.
Vigilius did not immediately publish this Damnatio, but
gave the document in question, as he informs us, in charge
to a Christian person, in order to give the Emperor, as well as
the bishops excommunicated, time to alter their mind. Should
these, however, not alter their mind, or should violence be done
to the Pope, or evil treatment be inflicted, or he should die,
the edict was to be published at the most important places,
and everyone should receive information on the subject.1
Vigilius was a short time, perhaps scarcely a day, in the
Basilica of S. Peter, when the Praetor and a considerable
number of soldiers with naked swords appeared in the
church, in order to bring him out by force. He clung to
the pillars of the altar ; the Prsetor, however, after he had
made them drag out the deacons and other clergy of the
Pope by the hair, gave command that the Pope himself
should be seized by the feet, the head, and the beard, and
dragged out. As Vigilius did not let go the pillars of the
altar, it fell over, and some of its pillars were broken. In
fact, the altar table would have fallen upon Vigilius and
struck him dead, had not some clerics held it fast with
their hands. The people were so angered by this sight, that
they broke out into loud murmurs, and even several of the
soldiers showed such unwillingness that the Praetor thought
it well to draw off.2
Somewhat gentler measures were now adopted, and the
Emperor sent a number of high officers of State, the
celebrated Belisarius and three others, ex-consuls, Cethegus,
Peter, and Justin, to the Pope, with the offer of an oath that
no wrong should happen to him if he returned to his former
residence. If, however, he would not receive this oath, force
would have to be used. Vigilius now drew up a sketch of
the oath which the Emperor was expected to furnish in
writing ; but the Emperor would not accept the sketch, and
ordered that the commissioners already named should take
1 Vigilii Encyclica, in Mansi, t. ix. p. 51 ; Hardouin, t. iii. p. 4.
2 This is told by Vigilius and the Italian clergy. Mansi, I.e. pp. 52, 154 ;
Hardouin, I.e. pp. 4, 49.
PROTEST, PERSECUTION, AND FLIGHTS OF THE POPE. 281
the oath. This was done. They laid the document con-
taining the oath upon the altar, and took a corporal oath
upon the cross, in which a portion of the sacred cross of
Christ was enclosed, and upon the keys of S. Peter ; where-
upon Vigilius, in accordance with the wish of the Emperor,
returned to the Placidia Palace. With him also Dacius and
all his other companions left the asylum in the Basilica of
S. Peter.1
The assurances given to the Pope were, however, so badly
fulfilled, that he repeatedly reminded those imperial com-
missioners, in writing, of their oath, and requested them to
represent to the Emperor that he had been promised
protection from all molestations. Yet the persecution became
daily more wanton ; 2 servants and clerics of the Pope and
his friends were bribed to inflict insults upon them ; faithful
servants, on the contrary, were torn from them ; and
emissaries were sent to Italy, in order to circulate falsehoods
against the Pope and Dacius, to stir up the people against
them, and to mislead them to the election of other bishops.
They went so far as to get a notary to imitate the hand-
writing of the Pope, and to prepare, in his name, false letters,
which a certain Stephen then brought into Italy, in order to
inflame the public mind against Vigilius. The Italian clergy,
who relate this,3 add that the intention was not attained ; yet
they themselves seem to have apprehended from all this a
very unfavourable effect upon public sentiment, on which
account they now, perhaps, assembled in a Council, conveyed
to the envoys then sent by the Frankish King Theodobald to
Constantinople, the document to which we have so often
referred, and which we first brought to light, in which the
course of the controversy on the three chapters up to this
time is described.4
1 Mansi, ll.cc. ; Hardouin, ll.cc. - Mansi, I.e. p. 52; Hardouin, I.e. p. 5.
3 Mansi, I.e. p. 154 sq. ; Hardouin, I.e. p. 49 sq.
8 In the autumn of 551, Procopius, De Bella Gothico, iv. 24, relates that
the Emperor Justinian, after the death of the Austrasian King Theodobert
(A.D. 548), sent to his son and successor Theodobald his Minister of State, to
move him to an alliance against the Goths, etc. Upon this Theodobald sent
the distinguished Frank, Leudard, with three other men of distinction, to
Constantinople. Cf. Walch, Ketzerhist. Bd. viii. S. 210.
282 HISTOKY OF THE COUNCILS.
At the same time, the petition was inserted in the
document to the Prankish envoys that they would convey
this intelligence to their own country as speedily as possible,
so that their countrymen might not be deceived either by
the emissaries ordered there, or by that Anastasius, who had
been sent more than two years ago by Bishop Aurelian of
Aries to Constantinople, to the Pope, but had been kept
there so long, until he promised that he would persuade the
Gallican bishops to pronounce an anathema on the three
chapters. The envoys were also requested to ask the
Gallican bishops to write letters to Vigilius and Dacius,
to comfort them, and to encourage them to make opposition
to all innovations. In the third place, during their stay in
Constantinople, they should intercede for Dacius, so that he
might, after an absence of fifteen or sixteen years, be allowed
to return again to his diocese, particularly as many sees, for
which new bishops had to be ordained, had for years been
vacant, so that many persons had died without baptism.1
Moreover, they should ask Dacius personally why he had not
long ago returned to his church. Finally, they must take
care not to be caught by the opponents, even if these should
declare that they were thoroughly orthodox and full of
respect for the Council of Chalcedon. The Italian clergy
add that they had received all this intelligence from quite
trustworthy people in Constantinople, also that in Africa acts
of violence were committed against clergymen, and that all
Komans were forbidden to visit the Pope.2
In the meantime Vigilius found out, more and more,
that the Emperor was thoroughly indisposed to keep that
oath. All ways of approach to the dwelling of the Pope were
watched, and the residence itself surrounded by so many
suspicious people, that Vigilius escaped two days before
Christmas, 551, full of anxiety, and under the greatest
dangers, with his friends to Chalcedon, and sought refuge in
the Church of S. Euphemia (a celebrated asylum) there, in
1 From the special interest on behalf of Dacius, it is concluded that the
Italian clergy who wrote this letter may have been from Milan ; cf. Walch,
Kctzerhist. Bd. viii. S, 210, Anm. 2.
2 Mansi, I.e. pp. 151-156 ; Hardouin, I.e. pp. 47-50.
NEW NEGOTIATIONS FOR GAINING OVER POPE VIGILIUS. 283
which the fourth (Ecumenical Synod was held. From hence
he published, in January 552, the decree against Ascidas and
Mennas, which had been drawn up nearly six months before ;
but here also he was persecuted, even beaten, two of his
deacons, Pelagius and Tullianus, torn from the church, various
sacerdotes (probably bishops in the train of the Pope) arrested.1
Vigilius himself was here seized by a violent sickness,2 and
his companion, Bishop Verecundus of Africa, died in the
hospital of the Church of S. Euphemia (sec. 262s).
SEC. 265. New Negotiations for gaining over Pope Vigilius.
Towards the end of January 552, the Emperor again
entered into communications with the Pope, and, on the 28th.
of January, sent the same commissioners to him whom he had
sent previously to the Basilica of S. Peter.3 They must have
again offered an oath to the Pope, and invited him to return
to Constantinople. He answered : " If the Emperor will
arrange the affairs of the Church and restore peace again, as
1 This is related in a document first edited by Baluze (Mansi, t. ix. p.
56 sqq. ; wanting in Hardouin), which is nothing but a letter of the Roman
clergy to good friends (supposed to be the Gallican envoys) on the events con-
nected with Vigilius. At the same time a confession of faith of the Pope is
appended, very similar to that which he embodied in his Encyclica of February
5, 552 (see next sec.). This confession of faith is, however, dated August 25,
551 (Justinian entered upon the government, at first co-government, April 1,
527). If this date is correct, this confession of faith cannot have been issued
from the Church of S. Euphemia, but earlier, from the Basilica of S. Peter.
Moreover, the date, August 25, 551, refers only to the confession of faith, and
not to the whole document ; for this contains references to later events, particu-
larly to the ill-treatment of the Pope in S. Euphemia's Church, noted above.
2 He mentions this at the beginning of his Encyclica. Mansi, I.e. p. 50 ;
Hardouin, I.e. p. 3.
8 In the Encyclica of the Pope, in Mansi, erroneously under the date Kalendis
Februarii. That this is false appears from the fact that even there that day is
indicated as Sunday, whilst February 1, 552, fell upon a Thursday (cf. Weiden-
bach, Calendarium historico-christianum, pp. 32 and 86) ; and moreover, it is
said below, in the same document, of a somewhat later incident, that the
imperial officer of State, Peter, came again to the Pope pridie Kalendas Febr.
We read therefore, in Hardouin, instead of Kalendas Febr., correctly v. Kal.
Febr., for January 28 was certainly a Sunday. We see this not only from the
Tables of Weidenbach, but also from a passage of the Encyclica of the Pope
(Mansi, I.e. p. 55 ; Hardouin, I.e. p. 7), where also February 4, 552, is mentioned
as Sunday.
284 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
his uncle Justin did, I need no oath, and will immediately
appear. If, however, he will not do this, I likewise need no
oath, for I will not leave the Church of S. Euphemia, unless
the offence is first removed from the Church."
At the same time, Vigilius placed before the commis-
saries what he had said to the bishops in that conference
(sec. 264), when he had betaken himself to S. Peter's Church,
and drawn up the sentence of punishment against Ascidas
and Mennas, etc. He also informed the Emperor, through
the commissaries, that he would have no intercourse with
the excommunicated men.
At the end of January one of those commissaries, Peter,
appeared, for the second time, in the Church of S. Euphemia,
and presented a document which Vigilius was required to
accept. He refused, and declared the document to be a
forgery, because it was not signed by the Emperor, and also
because the commissary would not sign it. Its contents
are unknown. Vigilius says only that it was full of untruths,
insults, and, moreover, of accusations against the Vicar of the
Prince of the Apostles. It was, however, the occasion of his
addressing an Encyclical to all the faithful, in which he
relates all that we have communicated from this Encyclical.
To this he adds the information, already given above, of his
being ill-treated in the Church of S. Peter, of his being
subsequently induced by an oath to return to the palace ; but,
notwithstanding, of his being obliged to flee to the Church of
S. Euphemia. In order, however, he proceeds, that the lies
circulated might deceive no one, he adds a complete confession
of faith, in which he first recognises the importance of the
four (Ecumenical Synods, and then emphasises the unity of
the person and the duality of the natures in Christ, and
finally, anathema is pronounced upon Arius, Macedonius,
Eunomius, Paul of Samosata, Photinus, Bonosus, Nestorius,
Valentinus, Manes, Apollinaris, Eutyches, Dioscurus, and their
doctrines. Finally, this Encyclical relates that, on Sunday,
February 4, that State official, Peter, had come again, and
had declared in the name of the Emperor that the Pope
should determine on what day the imperial commissaries
should appear again, in order to take a new oath to him,
NEW NEGOTIATIONS FOR GAINING OVER POPE VIGILIUS. 285
since he was required to leave the Church of S. Euphemia
and return to the capital. Vigilius declared anew, he only
wished that the Emperor would restore peace to the Church,
for the sake of which he had, seven years ago, come to Con-
stantinople. As, however, Peter had no sufficient authority,
he had wished that the Emperor would give adequate security
on oath, through two high officials, so that Dacius and some
others might personally go to the Emperor, and by commission
of the Pope make arrangements with regard to the affairs of
the Church.1 So far goes the Encyclical of the Pope, dated
February 5, 552.
What immediately followed upon this is not reported in
the original document. We may suppose, however, that, by
the negotiations of Dacius and the others, the matter took
this turn, that Mennas, Ascidas, and their friends should
present a confession of faith to the Pope that should be
satisfactory to him, and that the Synod, long resolved upon,
should finally be held for the settlement of the controversy.
What is certain is, that now Mennas, Theodore Ascidas,
Andrew of Ephesus, Theodore of Antioch in Pisidia, Peter of
Tarsus, and many other Greek bishops, presented a confession
of faith to the Pope, who was still in the Church of S.
Euphemia ; and that Vigilius was satisfied with it, and after-
wards received it into his Constitutum, so that by that means
we still possess it.
They declared in this that they desired the unity of the
Church, and therefore had set forth this document, to the
effect that they, before everything, held fast inviolably to
the four holy Synods of Nicaea, Constantinople, Ephesus, and
Chalcedon, as well to their decrees on the faith as to their
other ordinances, without adding or subtracting anything ;
and that they would never do, or allow anything to be done, to
the blame, or to the alteration, or to the reproach of these
Synods under any pretext whatever; but, on the contrary,
would accept everything which, by general decree, in agree-
ment with the legates and of the apostolic see, had then been
pronounced. In like manner, they were ready to give a
complete assent to the letters of Leo, and to anathematise
1 Mansi, t. ix. p. 50 sqq. ; Hardouin, t. iii. p. 3 sqq.
286 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
everyone who acted against them. As regarded, however,
the matter now coming in question respecting the three
chapters, none of them had prepared a statement on this
subject in opposition to the agreement between the Emperor
and the Pope (A.D. 550, sec. 262B); and they were agreed
that all writings should be given over to the Pope (i.e. should
first be put out of operation — until the decision of a Council).
As for the injuries which the Pope had experienced, they
were not in fault, yet they would ask forgiveness as though
they had themselves committed them. So, too, they would
ask forgiveness for having, during the time of division, held
communion with those whom the Pope had excommunicated.1
SEC. 266. Vigilius gives and recalls his Assent to the
holding of an (Ecumenical Synod.
Soon afterwards Mennas died, in August 552, and a short
time before also Dacius of Milan ; 2 but Eutychius received
the see of Constantinople, and soon after his entrance upon
office also sent a confession of faith to the Pope, on the Feast
of the Theophany, i.e. January 6, 552. And he affirms,
before everything, his love for unity in the faith, through
which God's grace was obtained, then speaks of his loyal
adhesion to the four holy Synods, and declares that he will
thoroughly agree with the letters which the Eoman bishops,
particularly Leo, wrote on the true faith. As regards the
three chapters, however, which come into question, a common
consultation must be held, and a final decision arrived at in
accordance with the four holy Synods.
Along with Eutychius there subscribed at the same time
Apollinaris of Alexandria (sec. 264), Domnus or Domninus
of Antioch, and Elias of Thessalonica. Besides these, all
those bishops who had not subscribed the former confession
1 Mansi, t. ix. p. 62 sq. ; Hardouin, t. iii. p. 10 sq.
2 Dacius died not on January 14, 553, as Noris (t. i. p. 633) thought, but
between February and June of 552, as the Ballerini showed (Norisii Opp. t. iv.
p. 857). Cf. Pagi, ad ann. 552, n. 18 and 25 ; Walch, I.e. S. 214. Victor of
Tununum is quite mistaken in stating that Dacius, in the year 554, subscribed
the anathema on the three chapters, and died on the same day (Galland. t. xii.
p. 231).
VIGILIUS AND AN (ECUMENICAL SYNOD. 287
of faith of Mennas and Ascidas, expressed their agreement,
but without any special giving of names.1 Vigilius replied,
January 8, 553, in several letters, all to the same effect,
addressed to Eutychius, Apollinaris, etc. " He rejoices," he
says, " in a high degree at the end of the separation. He
has received the letter of Eutychius, which he subscribed
with joy (he inserts his letter verbally in his own), and also
he will remain inviolably faithful to the true faith therein
confessed. Finally," he says, " he is thoroughly in accord
with this, that a general consultation, under his presidency,
servata aquitate, on the subject of the three chapters, should
be held, and that by a common decision, in accordance
with the four holy Synods, all division should be taken
away." 2
A letter of convocation referring to this Synod is no
longer extant; we learn, however, from a somewhat later
edict of the Emperor, that he summoned the assembly.3
From the same document and from the Constitutum of
Vigilius 4 we learn further, that the latter, after Mennas,
Ascidas, Eutychius, and others had sent him the declarations
of faith, and the Emperor had demanded from all the bishops
the sending of the same kind of confessions, wished that they
should hold the Synod that had been agreed upon in Italy or
Sicily, at which numerous bishops might be present from
Africa and other parts of the West, where hesitation was felt
1 This letter of Eutychius, from Constantinople, to Vigilius is found in Latin
in the Constitutum of the latter (M-nsi, t. ix. p. 63 ; Hardouin, t. iii. p. 11) ;
and in Greek in a Parisian MS. among the Acts of the first session of the fifth
(Ecumenical Synod (Mansi, I.e. p. 186 ; Hardouin, I.e. p. 59), and partially
among the Acts of the fifth session at Florence (Mansi, t. ix. p. 402). Remarks
on this letter are made by Gamier, Diss. de V. Synodo, in Schulze's edition of
the works of Theodoret of Cyrus, t. v. p. 545.
2 This letter of Vigilius is found in Greek and Latin in a Parisian Codex,
printed in Mansi, t. ix. p. 187 ; Hardouin, t. iii. p. 62. In the expression,
servata sequttate, some would discover that Vigilius had already required that
an equal number of Latins and Greeks should be present at the Synod. But
the expression may also have a general sense, such as is contained in the Greek
official version of the papal letter in the corresponding expression, ««< rov 3/*«/»i/
<PI/X«TTO^I»«I/. Cf. Gamier, I.e. p. 546.
3 "Ideo vos vocavimus ad regiam urbem," in Mansi, t. ix. p. 181 ; Hardouin,
t. iii. p. 56.
4 Mansi, t. ix. p. 61 sqq. ; Hardouin, t. iii. p. 10 sqq.
288 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
as to the rejection of the three chapters. The Emperor,
however, did not agree to this, but made the proposal to
summon to Constantinople those bishops whom the Pope
wished to consult.1 Probably the Emperor speedily gave up
this plan, because he might fear that, by bringing in these
Africans, etc., a great opposition to his plans might be
occasioned. In short, the Africans and others did not come ;
but Vigilius was still unwilling to take part in a Synod
where, besides himself and a few other Latins, merely Greeks
were to be present. In order to make a compromise, the
Emperor made the proposal, soon before Easter, either to
summon a tribunal for decision, or to hold a smaller assembly,
to which from all parts an equal number of bishops might be
got together.2 Vigilius understood this to mean that, of all
the many Greek bishops who were present, only as many as he
had Latins around him should be chosen to the conference; but
the Emperor meant that from each patriarchate there should
be a like number of bishops chosen, and so, as many from
Constantinople as from the West, and again, as many from
Alexandria, etc.
Taking the matter in his sense, the Pope prepared to
bring only three bishops from his side with him, and so from
the Greek side there should be only four persons selected, the
three patriarchs and one other bishop besides. But the
Emperor demanded that each Greek patriarch might bring
three to five bishops with him.3 As the Pope would not
agree to this, and on the other side the Emperor and the
Greek bishops rejected the Pope's proposal,4 Vigilius paid no
regard to the repeated request that he would, without further
delay, appear at the Synod, but declared that his intention was
to express his judgment in writing and for himself ; 5 and the
Synod was therefore opened without his presence, in order to
advance the via facti, and by the fait accompli to make the
Pope compliant.
1 Mansi, t. ix. p. 64 ; Hardouin, t. iii. p. 12.
2 Mansi, I.e. pp. 64 and 182 ; Hardouin, I.e. pp. 12 and 57.
3 Mansi and Hardouin, ll.cc.
4 Mansi, I.e. pp. 65 and 182; Hardouin, I.e. pp. 13 and 57.
5 Cf. the sentence of the Synod, in Mansi, I.e. p. 370; Hardouin, I.e. p. 189
CHAPTEE II.
THE TRANSACTIONS OF THE FIFTH (ECUMENICAL SYNOD.
SEC. 267. The first Session and the Acts of the Synod.
IN accordance with the imperial command, but without the
assent of the Pope, the Synod was opened on the 5th of
May 553, in the Secretarium of the Bishop's Church at
Constantinople.1 Among those present were the Patriarchs
Eutychius of Constantinople, who presided,2 Apollinaris of
Alexandria, Domninus of Antioch, three bishops as repre-
sentatives of the Patriarch Eustochius of Jerusalem, and
145 other metropolitans and bishops, of whom many came
also in the place of absent colleagues. At the close of the
Synod 164 members signed. At the first session six Africans
came up, at the last eight, among them Bishop Sextilian of
Tunis as representative of Archbishop Primosus (Primasius,
sec. 362B) of Carthage.3
The Greek Acts of our Synod have been lost; but we
still possess a Latin translation of them, which was probably
1 The two codices of Paris and Beauvais agree in giving Hi nonas lifaias as
the day of the opening of this Synod ; that of Surius, on the contrary, had iv
nonas J/aias = May 4. That the latter is incorrect, is clear from the statement
of the synodal deputies who were sent to the Pope at the first session. They
came to him for the first time on the 5th of May. He appointed them for the
next day, and they relate in the second session that they received an answer
from him on the 6th of May (Mansi, t. ix. p. 194 ; Hardouin, t. iii. p. 65).
The 5th of May is also supported hy the circumstance that it fell upon a Monday
in the year 553, and Synods were generally opened on a Monday. Cf. Ballerini
in their edition of the works of Cardinal Noris, t. iv. p. 960.
2 On the presidency at the fifth Synod, cf. vol. i. p. 31, and Natalia
Alexander, Hist. Eccl. sec. vi. t. v. p. 436, ed. Venet. 1778.
3 The order in which the bishops are entered in the minutes of the first
session is different to some extent from that of their own signatures at the last
session. Cf. Garnerii Diss. dc V. Synodo, in Schulze's edition of the works of
Theodoret, t v. pp. 543 sq. and 569 sq.
IV. 19
290 HISTOKY OF THE COUNCILS.
prepared at the time of the Synod for the use of Pope
Vigilius, and can be shown to have been used by one of his
nearest successors, Pelagius n. (578— 59 O).1 The questions
whether these Acts are genuine, gave occasion to an exten-
sive inquiry at the sixth (Ecumenical Council in the year 680.
At its third session the Acts of the fifth were read from a
manuscript which was divided into two books ; and in the
first book the so-called preliminary Acts seem to be contained,
and in the second the minutes proper of the sessions with
appendices. When from the first book a supposed letter of
Mennas to Pope Vigilius on the unity of the will in Christ
(in the sense of Monothelitism) began to be read, the papal
legates protested, and declared this document spurious. It
was immediately shown, in fact, that it was written by
another hand than the other pieces in the first book, and
upon leaves which had been added afterwards, and were not
paged like the others. The Emperor Constantine Pogonatus
therefore would not allow this document to be read further at
the sixth Synod ; 2 and in the course of time it has completely
disappeared ; it is not now extant.
The second book of the Acts of the fifth Council was then
read, and when they came to those two letters which Vigilius
was said to have written to the Emperor Justinian and to his
consort (with the expression unam operationem, sec. 259),
the papal legates also protested against the genuineness of
these two documents,3 and an examination was instituted,
the result of which we find in the minutes of the fourteenth
session. So far there were used, at the sixth Synod, two
manuscript collections of the Acts of the fifth Council, taken
from the archives of the patriarchate of Constantinople: (1)
a parchment codex, divided into two books, which, in its first
book, contained, as we have remarked, that spurious letter of
Mennas ; (2) a paper codex which contained only the Acts of
the seventh session. On further examination, the Dean
1 Of. the Prsefatio Baluzii, in Mansi, t. ix. p. 164.
2 Mansi, t. xi. p. 226 ; Hardouin, t. iii. p. 1067. At the twelfth session of
the sixth (Ecumenical Council also, the spurionsness of this Epistola Mennx
was recognised. Cf. Mansi, I.e. p. 527; Hardouin, I.e. p. 1311.
3 Mansi, t. xi. p. 226 sq. ; Hardouin, t. iii. p. 1070. In the twelfth session
this protest was also discussed. Mansi, I.e. p. 527 sq. ; Hardouin, I.e. p. 1311.
THE FIRST SESSION AND THE ACTS OF THE SYNOD. 291
and Chartophylax George found in the archiepiscopal archives
of Constantinople, besides, (3) a third codex, also written on
paper, and containing the Acts of the whole of the fifth Synod.
He declared on oath that, in these old books, neither by him
nor, with his consent, by anyone else, had any alteration
whatever been made ; and he was now commissioned by the
sixth Synod to compare these three codices with one another,
and with other old paper manuscripts of the earlier Council
(where these were found we are not told). It was then
discovered (a) that the latter and the codex No. 3 did not
contain those letters of Mennas and Vigilius ; (&) that in the
first book of the parchment codex No. 1, three quaterns
(sheets of four leaves each) had been added by a later hand,
and that in these the letter of Mennas was found (besides
that, probably other documents) ; (c) that in the second book
of that parchment codex, in the section relating to the seventh
session, between the original fifteenth and sixteenth sheets, a
sheet had been at a later period inserted, not paged, and con-
taining the two supposititious letters of Vigilius ; and that (d)
the paper codex No. 2 had been falsified in the same manner.
The Council therefore decided to cancel the three documents
thus shown to be spurious in MSS. No. 1 and No. 2, to mark
them respectively with an obelus, and anathematise them.1
By another way we arrive at the same result, that these
three pieces were not found in the oldest collections of the
Acts of the fifth Council. In the fourteenth session of the
sixth (Ecumenical Synod the following is related by Constantine,
a presbyter of Constantinople and a Latin grammarian (Gram-
maticus Latimis). Not long before (about thirty years), Paul,
then patriarch of Constantinople, had visited the archives, and
had there discovered a codex which contained a Latin transla-
tion of the Acts of the fifth (Ecumenical Council. At the
command of the patriarch he, the Grammaticm, had com-
pared this codex with the Greek, and had found that the two
letters of Vigilius were lacking in it. At the express command
of the patriarch he had translated them from the Greek,
and added them to the Latin codex.2 Accordingly the two
1 Mansi, t. ix. p. 587 sqq. ; Hardouin, t. iii. p. 1359 sqq.
- Mansi, t. xi. p. 594 sq. ; Hardouiu, t. iii. p. 1363 sq.
292 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
letters were not in the old Latin codex, but only in a Greek
translation of the Latin original. That Latin codex, however,
which the Patriarch Paul found about the year 650, was
certainly nothing but a copy of the original Latin translation,
which, if we are not mistaken, was made for Vigilius. Such
a Latin codex, either the original codex of Vigilius itself or a
copy, the papal legates had naturally brought from Rome with
them, and as the letter of Mennas and the two letters of
Vigilius were lacking in it, they made their protest both on
this formal ground, and on account of the Monothelite tendency
of the contents of these two documents. There are two alter-
natives possible : Either these documents are entirely spurious,
and had no existence at the time of the fifth Synod, but were
fabricated at a later period by a Monothelite, and are therefore
to be removed from the collection of the Acts ; l or they are
— at least the two letters of Vigilius (the lost one of Mennas
was, without doubt, quite spurious) — for the most part
genuine, and they were certainly read in the seventh session
of our Council, but they had not yet the addition unam
operationem, and this must have been interpolated by a
Monothelite.
Baluze declared for the latter theory in his fine Prcefatio
in acta Concilii V.;z and even Baronius (ad ann. 680, n. 47)
anticipated him here. Moreover, it must not be overlooked
that the two letters of Vigilius in question, apart from the
phrase unam operationem, entirely fit that time of Vigilius,
and certainly have witnesses for their genuineness in the
Emperor Justinian, in his minister Constantino, and in
Facundus of Hermione, since all three declare that Vigilius
at that time (before his Judicatum) had privately promised
the Emperor, in writing, an anathema on the three chapters
(sec. 259). That these two letters are wanting in the oldest
collections of the Acts of the fifth Council in no way proves
their entire spuriousness, for the collections of conciliar Acts
have always been very different in completeness, and in
1 This is the view of the Ballerini in their edition of the works of Cardinal
Noris, t. ir. p. 1038.
2 Mansi, t. ix. p. 163 sqq. Walch agreed with him, Ketzerhist. Bd. viii.
S. 80.
THE FIRST SESSION AND THE ACTS OF THE SYNOD. 293
many there were wanting documents of uncontested genuine-
ness.
The first who printed the Acts of the fifth (Ecumenical
Synod, now extant only in Latin, was Surius, in the year
1567.1 He had at command only one old manuscript. The
Roman editors restricted themselves to reprinting his text,
as they had no manuscript at hand. Labbd was, on the
contrary, fortunate enough to be able to compare a second
manuscript, Codex Parisiensis, belonging to Joly, precentor of
Paris ; but he did not make his work sufficiently thorough.
Baluze was the first to make full use of the Paris codex, and
found in it a series of the most important variations from the
text of Surius. He was able, besides, to compare a Codex
Sellovacensis, which Hermant, the learned canon of Beauvais,
had lent him, and which almost entirely harmonised with the
text of Surius. Thus equipped, Baluze brought out a much
better edition of the Acts of the fifth Council, accompanied
with critical notes, and introduced by a very interesting
Praefatio.2 We find his work also completely copied in
Mansi (t. ix. p. 163 sqq.), whilst Hardouin has made only
partial use of it.3
Besides the genuineness of our Acts, their completeness
has also become subject of discussion. This is connected with
the question whether the fifth (Ecumenical Synod was merely
occupied with the controversy on the three chapters, or also
held several sessions on Origen and his adherents. The most
important defender of the latter view was Cardinal Noris,4
who maintained that, before the eight sessions, the Acts of
which have come to us, there were one or several other
sessions for the purpose of examining and censuring Origen,
but that their Acts are entirely lost. So also, that the Synod,
after settling the matter of the three chapters, occupied
themselves further with Origenism, and anathematised two
Origenists long dead, Didymus the Blind and the deacon
1 Only a few documents in Greek are now extant. We shall indicate them
particularly further on.
- In his S-upplcmentum Conciliorum, p. 1475 sqq.
* Cf. Hardouin, t. iii. p. 51, and t. i. Prscf. p. viii.
4 Noris, Diss. de Synodo V. c. 6, in the edition of his works by the Ballerini,
t. i. p. 638 sqq.
294 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
Evagrius Ponticus (f 399). That the first part of this
hypothesis, namely, that the eight sessions, whose Acts we
have, and which were occupied only with the matter of the
three chapters, were preceded by others, is not tenable, was
seen by the Ballerini, in their defence of Noris's dissertation
against the Jesuit Gamier.1 As we related above, the Acts
of our Council were examined at the sixth (Ecumenical
Synod, particularly a codex which contained only the seventh
session, and it was there shown that what is now called the
seventh session was originally marked by the same number.
We cannot, therefore, assume that one or more sessions were
held before those of which we possess the Acts. This decided
the Ballerini to alter the hypothesis of Cardinal Noris to this
extent, that it was not until after the eight sessions on the
three chapters that some further sessions were held on
account of Origen, Didymus, and Evagrius, Our Acts, they
thought, were thus incomplete, as, moreover, is clear, since the
usual acclamations in honour of the Emperor, etc., are
wanting.2
A direct proof from antiquity, that the Acts of the fifth
Synod had once been more complete, Noris and the Ballerini
could, therefore, not discover ; but they thought that they
were justified in such an assumption, or even forced to
it, by inferences from passages in the Fathers.
(a) The priest Cyril of Scythopolis, who was a con-
temporary of the fifth Council, a disciple of S. Sabas, and one
who, as a member of the great Laura in Palestine, took
part in the Origenist controversy of that time, says, in his
biography of S. Sabas, c. 90, quite expressly: "When
the holy and (Ecumenical fifth Synod was assembled in Con-
stantinople, they smote with common and catholic anathema
Origen and Theodore of Mopsuestia, and also what Evagrius
and Didymus had taught on pre-existence and restitution.3
(6) Of almost equal antiquity with the priest Cyril was
1 Cf. the edition by the Ballerini of the works of Cardinal Noris, t. iv.
p. 1014 sq.
2 Ballerini, I.e. p. 1019.
3 Cyrilli Vita Sabse, c. 90, in Coteler. Ecdcs. Grxcse Moimmcnta, t. iii.
p. 374.
THE FIRST SESSION AND THE ACTS OF THE SYNOD. 295
the ecclesiastical historian Evagrius, at the time when our
Synod was held, a youth of about fifteen years. He also
writes, in his Church History (lib. iv. c. 38), that the fifth
(Ecumenical Synod, after the Palestinian monks Eulogius,
Conon, etc., had presented a memorial against Origen (after
the anathematising of the three chapters), had also pronounced
a condemnation on Origen and his adherents, particularly on
the blasphemies of Didymus and Evagrius.
(c) The third witness whom Noris and the Ballerini
adduce is the Lateran Synod of 649, at which (c. 18), and
in an utterance of Bishop Maxim us of Aquileia, Origen,
Didymus, and Evagrius are mentioned among those anathe-
matised by the first five Synods.1 Since, then, no decree was
drawn up against these three men by the first four Councils ;
this must have been done by the fifth (Ecumenical Synod.
(d) The sixth (Ecumenical Council, too (A.D. 680),
declares, in its seventeenth and eighteenth sessions, that the
fifth Synod was assembled on account of Theodore of
Mopsuestia, Origen, Didymus, and Evagrius.2
(e) To the same effect the seventh (Ecumenical Synod
expresses itself in its seventeenth session (Hardouin, t. iv. p.
454), not to mention other less important witnesses. From
all these utterances Noris and the Ballerini are led to the
supposition, that, besides the eight sessions of the fifth
Council, of which we possess the Acts, others must have been
held on account of Origen, etc.
The contentions of Cardinal Noris on this subject were
opposed by the Jesuit Garnier in his dissertation contributed
to the Breviarium of Liberatus, De quinta Synodo, c. 2, and
particularly c. 5.3 In the re-editing of this treatise in the
Actuarium of his edition of the works of Theodoret, he left
out the greater part of this (the old fifth chapter) ; but he
retained the principal portion, maintaining that Origen,
Didymus, and Evagrius were not anathematised at the fifth
Synod.*
1 Hardouin, t. iii. pp. 924 and 707 ; Mansi, t. x. pp. 887 and 1158.
2 Mansi, t. xi. pp. 631 and 710 ; Hardouin, t. iii. pp. 1395 and 1455.
3 Reprinted in Galland. t. xii. pp. 169 and 175 sqq.
4 Reprinted in Bd. v. of Schulze's edition of the works of Theodoret, p. 527.
296 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
It is not to be denied that the argument of Cardinal
Noris and the Ballerini has much to recommend it, and that
their witnesses are of importance ; nevertheless, we are
unable to agree with them, and can go no further than to say
that certainly the fifth Synod anathematised Origen, but not
in a special session, and not in consequence of special trans-
actions, but only transeundo and in cumido, since, in their
eleventh anathematism, among a number of older heretics,
they brought forward his name (see below). The names of
Evagrius and Didymus we do not find in the Acts of our
Synod at all. The reasons which we oppose to Noris and the
Ballerini are the following : —
(a) That only half of the Acts of the fifth (Ecumenical
Council have come to us is hinted at by none of the
ancients, and yet this is the main assumption of Cardinal
Noris, etc.
(J) In the imperial edicts which called our Council into
being, and prescribed the direction of its activity, there is
nowhere any reference to Origen, but only the rpia Ke<j)a\aia
are always indicated as the subject with which the Synod
has to deal.
(c) To the same effect Pope Vigilius, in the two edicts in
which he confirmed the fifth Synod several months after its
close, speaks only of the three chapters, and not in the least
of Origen, Didymus, and Evagrius, as little as of the other old
heretics who are brought forward in the eleventh anathe-
matism of the Synod.
(d) The inferences that the close of our Acts is wanting,
because no acclamations are contained in them, and that only
that part of the minutes was translated into Latin for
Vigilius which dealt with the three chapters, because only
this interested him, and not the part concerning Origen, are
two quite arbitrary assumptions of the Ballerini (I.e. p. 1019)
which have nothing to support them.
(e) In subscribing the minutes of the eighth session, the
Patriarch Eutychius recapitulated in brief all that had been
decreed without giving one syllable of a reference to Origen,
from which (in spite of Noris) it is clear that, at least up
to this time, no special transaction had taken place at our
THE FIRST SESSION AND THE ACTS OF THE SYNOD. 297
Synod on account of Origen. If, however, he was named
only transeundo in the eleventh anathematism, Eutychius had
no more reason to refer to him than to the other old heretics
there brought forward.
(/) Pope Gregory the Great says : " The Synod which
dealt with the three chapters anathematised only one single
person, namely, Theodore of Mopsuestia." l This he could not
have said, if the Eoman copy of the synodal Acts had con-
tained a special sentence against Origen. Only in the
eleventh anathematism the Eoman copy of the synodal Acts
also contains the name of Origen along with those of other
old heretics ; 2 and Gregory names these here as little as
Origen, because the anathema on them did not belong to the
special business of the fifth Council.
(g) We have already remarked that the Church his-
torian Evagrius, one of the chief witnesses of Cardinal
Noris, confounded the fifth Synod with the one held
somewhat earlier (A.D. 543) under Mennas, which did
anathematise Origen and drew up fifteen propositions against
him.
(h) With Cyril of Scythopolis, however, we may perhaps
suppose a slight error. Victor of Tununum says, ad aim.
565 (Galland. t. xii. p. 231), that the Emperor Justinian, in
this year, exiled Eutychius, patriarch of Constantinople, the
damnator trium capitulorum, et Evagrii eremitce diaconi ac
Didymi monachi. This points to the fact that the Patriarch
Eutychius, after the holding of our Synod at which he pre-
sided, published an edict in his diocese, and therein made
known the decrees of the fifth Council, at the same time
pronounced anathema on Evagrius and Didymus, and also on
1 Gregor. M. lib. ii. Epist. 51, Opp. t. ii. p. 615 (alias lib. ii. Epist. 36, in
Mansi, t. ix. p. 1105) : "In Synodo, in qua de tribus capitulis actum est, aperte
liqueat, nihil de fide convulsum esse vel aliquatenus immutatum, sed sicut
scitis, de quibus dam illic sollummodo personis est actitatum, quarum una, cujus
scripta evidenter a rectitudine catholics fidei deviabant, non injuste damnata
sunt."
2 That the copy of the Acts of our Synod extant in the Roman archives had
the name of Origen in the eleventh anathematism, we learn from the Lateran
Synod of A.D. 649, where this anathematism was read from the Roman copy,
as follows: "Si quis non anathematisat Arium, Eunomium, Macedonium,
Apollinarem, Nestorium, Eutychen, Origenem, cum impiis eorum scriptis, " etc.
298 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
Origen (perhaps renewed the decrees of the Synod under
Meunas). If this was so, then Cyril, living as a hermit
in the remote Laura, might easily confound the edict of
Eutychius following the fifth Synod with this, and so arrive
at his conclusion respecting Origen. If, however, the state-
ment was once circulated by him and Evagrius, that the fifth
Council had also anathematised Origen and the others, this
might have been repeated by a hundred others ~bond fide. So,
too, at the sixth (Ecumenical Council, in their copy of the Acts
of our Synod, amplified as we know, a passage may have been
found on Origen, Diodorus, and Evagrius. It is quite true
that here a critical examination of the copies was ordered ;
but this extended, as far as we can see from the text of the
fourteenth session of the sixth Council, only to the supposed
letter of Mennas and the two letters of Pope Vigilius ; for a
comparison and examination, extending to all particulars,
there seemed no great need, nor had they sufficient
time.1
After the 151 bishops had taken their places at the
opening of our Synod, the imperial Silentiarius Theodore
begged for admission, and presented a letter from the
Emperor, dated on the same day (May 5), addressed to the
Synod. This letter was immediately read by the deacon and
notary Stephen, and ran as follows : " The effort of my pre-
decessors, the orthodox Emperors, ever aimed at the settling
of controversies which had arisen respecting the faith by the
calling of Synods. For this cause Constantine assembled
318 Fathers at Nicsea, Theodosius 150 at Constantinople,
Theodosius the younger the Synod of Ephesus, the Emperor
Marcian the bishops at Chalcedon. As, however, after
Marcian's death, controversies respecting the Synod of Chal-
1 An eager denial has recently been given to the statement that Origen was,
in a general way, anathematised at the fifth Synod, by Alois Vincenzi, Prof, in
Archigymnasio litterarum hebraicarum in Rome, in his work, In sancti Qregorii
Nysseni et Origenis scripta ct doctrinam nova defensio, 4 vols. , Rome 1865 ; 5th
vol. ibid. 1869 (t. iv. cc. 9 and 10, and t. v. App. ii. eta, c. 5). He endeavours,
in a very thorough manner, to transform the whole history of the fifth
Oecumenical Council, and has declared everything false and untrue which
speaks against Origen and against Pope Vigilius. Cf. Tubingen Theol. Quartal-
sehr. 1867, S. 345 if.
THE FIRST SESSION AND THE ACTS OF THE SYNOD. 299
cedon had broken out in several places, the Emperor Leo
wrote to all bishops of all places, in order that everyone
might declare his opinion in writing with regard to this holy
Council. Soon afterwards, however, had arisen again the
adherents of Nestorius and Eutyches, and caused great
divisions, so that many Churches had broken off communion
with one another. When, now, the grace of God raised us to
the throne, we regarded it as our chief business to unite the
Churches again, and to bring the Synod .of Chalcedon, together
with the three earlier, to universal acceptance. We have
won many who previously opposed that Synod ; others, who
persevered in their opposition, we banished, and so restored
the unity of the Church again. But the Nestorians want to
impose their heresy upon the Church ; and, as they could not
use Nestorius for that purpose, they made haste to introduce
their errors through Theodore of Mopsuestia, the teacher of
Nestorius, who taught still more grievous blasphemies than
his. He maintained, e.g., that God the Word was one, and
Christ another. For the same purpose they made use of
those impious writings of Theodoret which were directed
against the first Synod of Ephesus, against Cyril and his
twelve chapters, and also the shameful letter which Ibas is
said to have written. They maintain that this letter was
accepted by the Synod of Chalcedon, so would free from con-
demnation Nestorius and Theodore who were commended in
the letter. If they were to succeed, the Logos could no
longer be said to be ' made man,' nor Mary called the ' God-
bearer.' We therefore, following the holy Fathers, have first
asked you in writing to give your judgment on the three
impious chapters named, and you have answered, and have
joyfully confessed the true faith.1 Because, however, after
the condemnation proceeding from you, there are still some
who defend the three chapters, therefore we have summoned
you to the capital, that you may here, in common assembly,
place again your view in the light of day. When, for
example, Vigilius, Pope of Old Rome, came hither, he, in
answer to our questions, repeatedly anathematised in writing
1 Gamier (I.e. p. 544) remarks on this that many had been compelled. Cf.
above, sec. 258, and notes there.
300 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
the three chapters, and confirmed his steadfastness in this
view by much, even by the condemnation of his deacons,
Eusticus and Sebastian.1 We possess still his declarations
in his own hand. Then he issued his Judicatum, in which
he anathematised the three chapters, with the words, Et
quoniam, etc. (sec. 259). You know that he not only deposed
Kusticus and Sebastian because they defended the three
chapters, but also wrote to Valentinian, bishop of Scythia,
and Aurelian, bishop of Aries, that nothing might be under-
taken against the Judicatum. When you afterwards came
hither at my invitation, letters were exchanged between you
and Vigilius 2 in order to a common assembly. But now he
had altered his view, would no longer have a Synod, but
required that only the three patriarchs and one other bishop
(in communion with the Pope and the three bishops about
him) should decide the matter. In vain we sent several
commands to him to take part in the Synod. He rejected
also our two proposals, either to call a tribunal for decision,
or to hold a smaller assembly, at which, besides him and his
three bishops, every other patriarch should have place and
voice, with from three to five bishops of his diocese.3 We
further declare that we hold fast to the decrees of the four
Councils, and in every way follow the holy Fathers, Athanasius,
Hilary, Basil, Gregory the Theologian, Gregory of Nyssa,
Ambrose, Theophilus, John (Chrysostom) of Constantinople,
Cyril, Augustine, Proclus, Leo, and their writings on the
true faith. As, however, the heretics are resolved to
defend Theodore of Mopsuestia and Nestorius with their
impieties, and maintain that that letter (of Ibas) was received
by the Synod of Chalcedon, so do we exhort you to direct
your attention to the impious writings of Theodore, and
1 Up to this point the Paris codex does not vary from the text of Surius.
But from this point there is a considerable difference for a large space. The
Paris codex is here more complete, and the text of Surius (and the codex of
Beauvais) certainly only an abridgment. We follow the Paris codex, but
allow ourselves, in the translation of the broad imperial letter, several abridg-
ments and contractions.
2 He meant by this, as we subsequently learn, the letters of Eutychius, etc.,
to the Pope (see sec. 266).
3 From this point onwards the codices again agree.
THE FIRST SESSION AND THE ACTS OF THE SYNOD. 301
especially to his Jewish Creed 1 which was condemned at
Ephesus and Chalcedon. You will thence see that he and
his heresies have since been condemned, and that therefore
his name has long since been struck from the diptychs of the
Church of Mopsuestia. Consider the absurd assertion that
no one who has died is to be anathematised ; consider further
the writing of Theodoret and the supposed letter of Ibas, in
which the incarnation of the Word is denied, the expression
' Godbearer ' and the holy Synod of Ephesus rejected, Cyril
called a heretic, and Theodore and Nestorius defended and
praised. And, as they say that the Council of Chalcedon has
received this letter, you must compare the declarations of
this Council relating to the faith with the contents of
the impious letter. Finally, we entreat you to accelerate
the matter, and commend you, holy fathers, to the divine
protection." 2
After the reading of the imperial letter, the Silentiarius
was required to withdraw ; and the Synod gave orders that,
as the Emperor spoke of a correspondence with Vigilius, the
documents connected with it should be communicated. The
notary Stephen then read the letter of Eutychius of Con-
1 Cf. above, sec. 140 in vol. iii. As at Chalcedon the Acts of the third Synod
were read again, and (Sess. i.) among them the censure of that creed, the
Emperor could say that the Council of Chalcedon had also condemned it. \Ve
think it necessary to remark this, in opposition to Gamier (I.e. p. 544). On
the creed of Theodore, cf. Walch, Ketzerhist. Bd. v. S. 354 and 887. It is
reprinted in Mansi, t. iv. p. 1347, and t. ix. p. 227 ; Hardouin, t. i. p. 1515,
and t. iii. p. 89.
2 Mansi, t. ix. p. 178 sqq. ; Hardouin, t. iii. p. 54 sqq. A criticism of this
imperial letter is given by Gamier (I.e. p. 544), who imputes to it several
errors. In the Acts of our Synod this letter is extant only in an old Latin
translation. There still exists, however, the Greek text of a similar edict,
printed in Mansi, I.e. p. 582; Hardouin, I.e. p. 322. At the beginning, both
texts, the Greek and the Latin, are of the same purport. Further on the Greek
lias a long passage from Cyril, which certainly was not originally there (cf.
Gamier, I.e. p. 537) ; further on, the Greek text leaves out much which is found
in the Latin. At the end the Greek text gives an extract from the decree of the
fifth Synod on the three chapters (Sess. viii.) ; particularly is the close of the
synodal decree given almost verbally, even with reference to the passage of
Scripture, Isa. 1. (cf. Mansi, I.e. p. 587 with p. 376 ; and Hardouin, I.e.
p. 326 sq. with p. 193). Gamier (I.e. p. 537) thought that this Greek letter of
the Emperor and the decree of a Synod appended to it belonged, not to the Acts
of the fifth Council, but to an earlier Synod held by Mennas, A.D. 646 — an
invention of Mennas. Cf. sec. 258.
302 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
stantinople to Vigilius, and then the answer of the Pope, from
both of which documents we have given extracts above l (sec.
266). The Acts add correctly that Apollinaris of Alexandria
and Domninus of Antioch, together with their suffragans who
were present in the residence, had addressed quite the same
letters to the Pope as Eutychius, and had received the same
answer. The bishops then declared that although several
of them and the imperial officials 2 had already frequently
exhorted Vigilius to enter into common consultation with
them, yet it was reasonable to do this once more ; and
thereupon, whilst the rest remained assembled, there went a
highly distinguished and numerous deputation, among them
the three Oriental patriarchs, to the Pope, to invite him to
take part in the Synod. They returned with the intelligence
that Vigilius had stated that, on account of being unwell,
he was unable to give them an immediate answer, and he
requested the deputies to come again next day in order to
receive his answer. In expectation of this they closed the
first session.
SEC. 268. Second and Third Sessions on the 8th and 9th
of May.
On the 8th of May 553, the same bishops came together
again in the same place,3 and on request the deputies sent
in the first session to Vigilius gave an account of their
second visit to the Pope. " As the Pope of Old Borne," they
said, " appointed the next day for us, so we betook ourselves
again to him on the 6th of May, two days ago, reminded him
of the letters already exchanged between us and him, and
requested him, in accordance with his promise, now to declare
whether he would take council in common with us ' on the
1 These two letters are extant both in Greek and in Latin.
3 Judices, a title of high office. Du Cange (Glossar. t. iii. p. 1570) says :
" J-udices interdum iidem, qui Comites, Magnates, Proceres vel Senatores. " Cf.
above, sec. 188, note 1.
3 The codex of Beauvais again mentions all the bishops by name. The
same seems to have been the case with the codex of Sunns. But Surius himself
shortened it with et cseteris. The Paris codex, finally, mentions by name only
the first ten bishops.
SECOND AND THIRD SESSIONS ON 8TH AND 9TH MAY. 303
subject of the three chapters. He refused to take part in
the Synod, with the remark, that the number of Orientals was
so great, and that he had only a few bishops with him ; so
that he had begged the Emperor to allow more bishops to
come from Italy. We replied that neither by us nor by the
Emperor had the promise been given to await the arrival of
the Western bishops ; whilst Vigilius had promised in writing
to meet with us, and it was not right for him to distinguish
so abruptly between Western and Eastern, as they both held
the same faith, and that in the case of the first four (Ecu-
menical Synods not many Westerns had been present. And
besides, there were, in fact, a good many Western bishops
from Africa and Illyria present at Constantinople. He
replied, we will come together in equal numbers, I will take
three bishops with me ; from the other side, let the three
patriarchs come with one other bishop, so that there may be
four on each side. We made the counter proposal, that at
least each patriarch should bring with him the same number
of bishops as the Pope, and added that it was, moreover, un-
becoming, that out of so many bishops who were here, the
matter should be decided by so few. As he persevered in his
refusal, we added, that, as the Emperor had commanded us,
as well as him, to deliver an opinion on the three chapters,
we, on our part, should assemble without him and express our
view. He then declared : I have asked the Emperor for a
delay of twenty days, within which time I will answer his
written question. If I have not by that time expressed my
opinion, then I will accept all that you decree on the three
chapters. We replied : In the correspondence between us and
you there was nothing said of a separate, but of a common
declaration on the three chapters. If your Holiness only
wishes for delay, it is to be considered that the matter has
already lasted seven years, since your Holiness came into this
city. Moreover, you are perfectly informed on the subject,
and have already frequently anathematised the three chapters,
both in writing and orally. Vigilius refused to give any
further answer. We, however, persevered in the request that
he would come with us, and immediately gave the Emperor
information of our conference with Vigilius. He promised
304 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
to send some State officials (judices) and bishops to him, in
order to admonish him anew." l
Diodorus, the Archdeacon and Primicerius of the Notaries,
now declared that yesterday, May 7, the Emperor had actually
sent several State officials, together with a number of bishops,
to the Pope, and the former were ready to give a report con-
cerning their mission. They related : " At the command of
the Emperor, we had recourse to Pope Vigilius on the 1st of
May in the company of Belisarius and others, and again on
the 7th of May in company with Theodore, bishop of Csesarea,
and others, and presented to him both times the same command
of the Emperor, that he would either negotiate with all the
bishops in common, or, if he did not like this, that he would
first with the patriarchs and some other bishops consider the
question of the three chapters, so that the judgment of this
commission might then be received by the other bishops. He
refused, however, both the consultation with all and that with
the patriarchs, and demanded delay, in order that he might give
his answer alone. We told him that he had already frequently
anathematised the three chapters alone, both in writing and
orally, but that the Emperor desired a common sentence upon
them. Vigilius, too, had already himself communicated to the
Emperor his wish for a delay ; and had received for answer,
that, if he were really ready for a common consultation with
the bishops or patriarchs, then he should receive a still
longer delay. As, however, he was now visibly trying to put
the matter off, it was necessary that the other bishops should
give their judgment in a Synod. . . . We presented this to him,
and besought him repeatedly to take part in the Synod. But
he persisted in his refusal."2 This report of the imperial
officials was confirmed by the bishops who went with them to
Vigilius. The former now withdrew again from the session
with the words : " The bishops, having the fear of God before
their eyes, should make a short end to the affair, and be con-
1 Mansi, t. ix. pp. 194-196 ; Hardouin, t. iii. p. 65. In regard to this docu-
ment also the Paris codex edited by Baluze differs considerably from the text of
Surius and the codex of Beauvais. It is more complete. But there is no con-
tradiction between the texts. "VVe have followed the Paris codex.
2 Here, too, the Paris codex, which we follow, is again somewhat more
complete than the other text.
SECOND AND THIRD SESSIONS ON 8TH AND 9TII MAY. 305
viiiced that the Emperor held inviolable and defended the
definitions of the faith of the four holy Synods, and rejected
all that was in opposition to them. At his command, also,
those four Synods were inscribed in the diptychs — a thing
which was never done before."1
The Synod thereupon sent deputies to the Western bishops
present in Constantinople, Primasius of Africa (sec. 262s),
Sabinianus, Projectus, and Paul from Illyricum, in order to
request their appearance. The envoys speedily returned with
the intelligence that Primasius would not come because the
Pope was not there; and the other three had said that they
must first take counsel with their archbishop, Benenatus. The
Synod resolved to inform the latter that Benenatus was in fellow-
ship with the Synod, and one of his suffragans, Phocas, was even
present. As to Primasius, however, his case should be decided,
in due time, according to the rules of the Church, that the
Emperor should immediately receive information on this point
also, and that a new session should be held on the following day.2
In this, the third session, on May 9, 553, the minutes of
the two previous transactions were read, and then a confession
of faith was drawn up by the bishops, which was partly
identical with that of the Emperor in his edict of May 5, and
declares adhesion to the decrees of the four early Councils,
and to the doctrine of the Fathers, Athanasius and others. To
this the Synod adds the threat of anathema on all who should
separate themselves from the Church (certainly with allusion to
Vigilius), and closes with the words : " In regard to the contro-
versy on the three chapters, with respect to which the Emperor
questioned us, a special meeting is necessary on another day." s
SEC. 269. Fourth Session on the 12th or 13th of May.
When the bishops again assembled on the 12th, or, accord-
»
1 Mansi, t. ix. ]>. 198 sq. ; Hardouin, t. iii. p. 68. Walch, Ketzerhist. Bd.
viii. S. 226, has misunderstood the text of the Acts, and has taken the parting
words of imperial officers for a part of the relation of the bishops. These, he
says, had added that the Ministers had given to Vigilius assurances as to the
orthodoxy of the Emperor.
2 Mansi, I.e. p. 196 sqq. ; Hardouin, t. iii. p. 67 sqq.
3 Mansi, I.e. p. 200 sqq. ; Hardouin, I.e. p. 70 sq.
IV. 20
306 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
ing to the Paris codex, on the 13th of May, they caused to be
read, from the writings of Theodore of Mopsuestia, the passages
already collected, on account of which he had been accused
of heresy by the holy Fathers.1 Callonymus, the deacon and
notary, read no fewer than seventy-one passages, together with
the infamous creed of Theodore (see sec. 267). The first of
these passages from the third book of Theodore against
Apollinaris, declares the difference between the Word and
Him who was born of Mary, between the temple and the
dweller therein, in a strong Nestorian sense. The same mean-
ing is given by the second passage, which leaves it doubtful
whether the Logos was united with the Son of Man in the
womb of Mary, or only afterwards. The mere dwelling of
the Word in a man is then declared very distinctly in Nos. 3,
4, etc. Twelve of these passages are taken from the books
of Theodore against Apollinaris, others from his commentaries
on John, Matthew, Luke, Acts of the Apostles, Epistle to the
Hebrews, Psalms, and Prophets, from the works, De Incar-
natione, Ad baptizandos, De creatura, and others. Some of
them we have used above (vol. iil sec. 127) in order to set
forth Theodore's teaching, and this has been done more com-
pletely by Dr. Gengler in the Tubingen Theolog. Quartalschrift,
1835, S. 223 ff.
Even during the reading, after the twenty - seventh
passage which speaks of a dwelling of the Godhead in man,
and, as though the latter had been supported and healed by
the former, the Synod exclaimed : " That we have already
condemned, that we have already anathematised. Anathema
to Theodore and his writings ... a Theodore, a Judas."
And after the whole reading was ended, they exclaimed :
' This creed (Theodore's) Satan has made. Anathema to him
who made this creed ! The first Synod of Ephesus anathema-
tised this creed with its author. We know only one creed,
that of Nicaea : the other three Synods have also handed this
1 It is not known who prepared this anthology. Some have supposed Bishop
Benignus of Heraclea in Pelagonia, on account of that which is related of him
below, sec. 272. Others have thought the Armenian monks (see sec. 160 in
vol. iii.). Gamier (I.e. p. 547) thought that one or more of the bishops at the
Synod had undertaken the work.
FIFTH SESSION ON MAY 17. 307
down; in this creed we were baptized and baptize others.
Anathema to Theodore of Mopsuestia ! He has rejected the
Gospels, insulted the incarnation of God (dispensatio, oiKovo^ia,
cf. Suicer, Thesaur. s.v.). Anathema to all who do not anathe-
matise him ! His defenders are Jews, his adherents heathens.
Many years to the Emperor ! . . . We all anathematise
Theodore and his writings." The Synod hereupon declared :
" The multitude of blasphemies read out, which Theodore has
spit out against our great God and Saviour, essentially against
his own soul, justifies his condemnation. Yet because we
will be quite exact in the examination of the matter, we must
hear further on another day." l
SEC. 270. Fifth Session on May 17.
The day on which the fifth session was held is given dif-
ferently in the manuscripts of the synodal Acts. The codex of
Surius had viii Idus Maii ( = May 8). But this reading can-
not possibly be received, since the previous session took place
on the 12th or 13th of May. The Eoman editors, in their
Collection of the Councils, corrected viii Idus into Hi Idus
( = May 13), and endeavoured to justify this assumption by a
passage from a speech of Archdeacon Diodorus presently to be
noticed. Baluze found, however, in his two codices, the date
xvi Kal Junias ( = May 17), and showed that this reading must
be retained,2 which was then taken by Hardouin into the text.
At the beginning of this session Diodorus, archdeacon of
Constantinople, spoke thus : " The holy Synod remembers that,
on a former day,3 they had recognised the impiety of Theodore
and his writings, but at the same time had resolved in another
session to have read aloud what the holy Fathers and the
imperial edicts pronounced concerning Theodore."4 The
1 Mansi, t. ix. pp. 202-230; Hardouin, t. iii. pp. 71-91.
2 Cf. his note 9 in Mansi, t. ix. p. 230. The Ballerini also, Norisii Opera,
t. iv. p. 960, declared for this date.
3 The expression anteriore die docs not mean neceasarily the day immediately
preceding, as the Roman editors assumed in their correction of date mentioned
above.
4 The Acts of this session are found in Mausi, t. ix. pp. 230-297 ; Hardouin,
t. iii. pp. 91-139.
308 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
Synod adhered to this resolution, and after, as in all the other
sessions, the minutes of the earlier ones had been read, a
deacon brought forward from the now lost treatise of Cyril
against Theodore of Mopsuestia, ten passages which contained
first Theodore's own words and then Cyril's answer.1 This
was followed by a rather large fragment from the very
violent letter of the Armenian and Persian clergy to Proclus,
formerly bishop of Constantinople, in which Theodore is called
a pestifer Iwmo, nay, a wild beast in human form, and his
influence and his errors are described. From the answer of
Proclus to the Armenians two small passages are extracted ; 2
then four passages from four letters of Cyril, one from the
letter of Nabulas to Cyril, and one from the now lost Church
History of Hesychius, a priest of Jerusalem (in the fifth
century), in which the biography of Theodore of Mopsuestia
is given in brief, and a very severe judgment pronounced upon
him. Next followed two imperial edicts of Theodosius the
younger,3 and two utterances of Gregory of Nyssa against
Theodore.4 Finally, in proof that the writings attacked by
Cyril really proceeded from Theodore, and that he was
accused of heresy at so early a period, three passages from
Theodoret were held sufficient.5
The examination immediately proceeded to another point :
1 On this writing of Cyril's : Three Books against Theodore of Mopsuestia
and Diodorus of Tarsus, cf. Fessler, Patrologia, t. ii. p. 564, and Gamier, I.e. p.
547 sq.
2 The whole answer of Proclus is preserved among the Acts belonging to the
Council of Ephesus, in Mansi, t. v. p. 421 ; Hardouin, t. i. p. 1722. See vol.
iii. sec. 160.
3 These we have met already (vol. iii. sees. 159 and 181), and find also in
Mansi, t. v. p. 413, t. vii. p. 495 ; and Hardouin, t. i. p. 1715, t. ii. p. 673.
The latter of these two edicts had an evil reputation in the Church from having
been directed against Flavian, and had already been recalled by the Emperor
Marcian. In the text of the first edict, as it appears in Mansi, t. v. p. 413, and
Hardouin, t. i. p. 1715, the adherents of Nestorius are generally anathematised,
and described as Simonians. In the text, however, as it appeal's in the Acts of
the fifth Synod, the names of Diodorus and Theodore are inserted (Mansi, t. ix.
p. 249 sq. ; Hardouin, t. iii. p. 104). So, in the text of the second edict, the
name of Theodore is introduced. Cf. Gamier, I.e. p. 548.
4 Gamier (I.e. p. 548 sq.) regards them as spurious.
5 Mansi, t. ix. pp. 231-254 ; Hardouin, t. iii. pp. 92-108. All that was
brought forward in the fifth session against the Mopsuestian was intended to
send as answer to the Defensio of Facundus. Cf. Gamier, I.e. p. 550.
FIFTH SESSION ON MAY 17. 309
Whether it was true that S. Cyril, in one of his writings, had
praised Theodore and called him bonus Theodorus. In order
to clear up this question, a passage was read from the treatise
of Cyril against Theodore, in which this phrase certainly
occurs : " Scriptum est a bono Theodore adversus hseresin
Arianorum," etc. ; but that which goes before and that which
follows show quite clearly that on one point Cyril commended
the zeal of Theodore and yet acccused him of false doctrine.
So also several letters of Gregory of Nazianzus were read, in
order to prove that the Theodore to whom they were
addressed was not the Mopsuestian, but the bishop of Tyana
(sec. 263) ; which was confirmed by Euphranta, who was then
bishop of Tyana, and was present at the Synod, and by Bishop
Theodosius of Justinianopolis.1
In order to weaken the further objection of the opponents,
that no dead man should be anathematised, the deacon
Photinus read several passages from Cyril ; and the African
bishop, Sextilian, declared that the old African Synods had
decreed that those bishops who left their property to heretics
should be anathematised even after their death ; Augustine,
too, had expressed himself in a letter in favour of the lawful-
ness of anathematising one who is dead (see sec. 263). In
proof three passages were read from Augustine, upon which
Bishop Benignus of Heraclea remarked that, as a matter of
fact, many had been anathematised after their death, e.g.
Valentinus, Marcian, Apollinaris, etc., and many Eusebians.
In agreement with this, Eabulas of Edessa had anathematised
Theodore of Mopsuestia after his death, and so had the
Roman Church Dioscurus, bishop of Rome (antipope), after
his death, although he had never offended against the
faith.2
Theodore Ascidas, John of Nyssa, and Basil of Justiniano-
polis now alleged that the defenders of Theodore relied upon
a supposed letter of S. Cyril to John of Antioch, in which the
former disapproved of the anathema on Theodore. They
produced the letter, and showed its spuriousness by quoting
the genuine utterances of Cyril on the Mopsuestian. From
1 Mansi, I.e. pp. 255-259; Hardouin, I.e. pp. 108-111.
2 Mansi, t. ix. pp. 259-263 ; Hardouin, t. iii. pp. 112-114. Of. sec. 263.
310 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
other passages of Cyril they showed that he considered an
anathema on one who was dead as allowable, and they added
that the opponents could not support themselves by the fact
that Cyril at one time (vol. iii. sec. 160), with prudent regard
to the circumstances, was unwilling to obtain an anathema on
Theodore of Mopsuestia. As, however, this toleration (dispen-
satio) did not win back those who had gone astray, Cyril and
Proclus had afterwards expressed themselves the more
violently against Theodore. The Apostle Paul, too, had used
similar toleration towards the weak, and had even kept the
ordinances of the old law. So, Basil the Great and Athanasius
had in some measure commended Apollinaris, and Pope Leo,
at one time, Eutyches (vol. iii. sec. 171) ; but afterwards they
anathematised those heretics. So, many others had been
anathematised after their death, e.g. Origen. Whoever would
go back to the times of Theophilus of Alexandria and still
further, would find this. Indeed, the bishops present and
Pope Vigilius had done the same in regard to Origen.1 A
supposed letter of Chrysostom in honour of the Mopsuestian,
which was circulated by the opposition, was spurious, and
contradicted the genuine letter of Chrysostom to Theodore, in
which he blamed him for abandoning the monastic life.
Nor could they say that Theodore had died in the communion
of the Church, for only he who held the true faith until death
died in Church communion. — At the close the bishops recited
another passage from Gregory of Nyssa, which declared the
doctrine of two Sons, and so the doctrine of Theodore, to be
unchristian.2
After the long addresses of the three bishops the Acts of
the recently held Synod of Mopsuestia (sec. 262), with the
imperial edicts prefixed, were read, in proof that the name of
1 From this passage Noris thought (t. i. p. 639) that he could prove, luce
clariiis, that Origen had at that time already been anathematised by the fifth
Synod. But Theodore Ascidas (who is here the speaker) only says, in this
passage, ' ' the same bishops who are here present had lately anathematised
Origen, i.e. had received the imperial edict against Origen of the year 543." If,
however, an anathema had already been pronounced on Origen by the fifth Synod
itself, there could have been no controversy on the subject of the lawfulness of
anathematising a man after his death. Quite naturally Vincenzi explains the
mention of Origen as an interpolation.
2 Mansi, t. ix. pp. 263-274 ; Hardouin, t. iii. pp. 114-123.
FIFTH SESSION ON MAY 17. 311
Theodore had long ago been struck out of the diptychs of his
own church.1
Here the inquiry concerning Theodore closed, and
Theodoret of Cyrus came next in his turn. Several passages
from his writings against Cyril, etc., were read ; namely, four
fragments from his polemic against the twelve anathematisms
of Cyril, four fragments from some discourses of Theodoret,
and five merely entire letters of his.2 Theodoret declared
himself here as openly heterodox, whilst he himself wanted to
make the doctrine of Cyril to be heretical. In order to
oppose the supposed mingling of the divine and the human
with Cyril, he made a separation in a Nestorian sense between
Godhead and manhood in Christ, and rejected expressions
which, up to the present day, are the Shibboleth of orthodoxy
in the Church. In the first fragment, e.g., he says, " God
the Word is not incarnate " ; in the second, " an hypostatic
union we do not acknowledge at all " ; in the third and fourth
he opposes the communicatio idiomatum ; in the fifth he calls
S. Cyril an impius ; in the sixth an impugnator Christi ; in
the seventh a novus hcereticus, who confuses the natures in
Christ, etc.3
After the reading was finished the Synod declared : " The
accuracy of the Council of Chalcedon is wonderful. It
recognised the blasphemies of Theodoret, at the beginning it
directed many exclamations against him, and received him
only after he had anathematised Nestorius and his blas-
phemies.— On a subsequent day an inquiry was to be
instituted on the last chapter, the letter of Ibas." 4
1 Mansi, I.e. pp. 274-289 ; Hardouin, t. iii. pp. 123-134.
2 The last of these letters, with the superscription to John of Antioch, is
ambiguous. One who is dead is there violently blamed (the superscription of
the letter says Cyril of Alexandria) ; but John of Antioch died before Cyril, and
it was therefore impossible that Theodoret should write on the death of Cyril to
John of Antioch. Either, then, the letter is spurious, or we must think of
another than the Alexandrian (as Basnage did) ; or we must assume, with Peter
de Marca and Noris, that in the superscription of the letter instead of John of
Antioch we should read Domnus of Antioch. Cf. Garnier, De libris Theodoreti,
in Schulze's edition of the works of Theodoret, t. v. p. 376 ; Ballerini (in Noris,
Opera, t. iv. p. 961), and Walch, Ketzerhist. Bd. viii. S. 273 f.
8 Mansi, I.e. pp. 289-297 ; Hardouin, I.e. pp. 134-139.
4 Mansi, I.e. p. 297 ; Hardouin, I.e. p. 139.
312 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
SEC. 271. Sixth Session on May 19.
In the sixth session, May 19, 553, the minutes of the
previous meetings were again read at the beginning, and the
Synod then declared : " As certain persons maintain that the
supposed letter of Ibas was received by the Council of
Chalcedon, and, in proof, appeal to the utterances of one or
another member of that assembly, whilst at the same time all
the other bishops were not of the same view, the letter in
question must first of all be read." This was done, and our
Acts contain here the Latin' translation of the letter which is
preserved in the Greek original in the minutes of the tenth
session of Chalcedon. We gave its chief contents above (vol.
iii. sec. 196). The Synod then ordered the reading of the
letter of Proclus to John of Antioch, in which the former
relates that Ibas had been accused before him of being an
adherent of Nestorianism, and of having translated writings
of Theodore into Syriac and circulated them. After, then,
the Synod had pronounced the rejection of the letter to
Maris in general, Theodore Ascidas and three other bishops
gave an account of the transactions held on the subject of Ibas
more than a hundred years ago (vol. iii. sees. 169 and 1 9 6), how
he had been accused, but at Tyre had pronounced anathema
on Nestorius, and maintained that, since the union between
Cyril and the Orientals, he had written nothing more against
him. At the same time, he had denied the authorship of the
letter. Subsequently, because of his opposition to Cyril, he
had been deposed, together with Domnus of Antioch (the
bishops do not mention that this was done at the Eobber-Synod,
see vol. iii. sec. 179), and that, at Chalcedon, putting aside
the question about the letter, he had spoken only of the
other charges which were brought against him. The bishops
then say, further, that the opposition, with heretical slyness,
referred to one or two utterances on Ibas which were made
by individual members at Chalcedon, in order to prove that
the Synod had accepted his letter. But in Councils nothing
was decided by the utterance of one or another. Moreover,
these votes l should be considered more closely, and it would be
1 [Voices rather— testimonies in favour of the accused during the discussion.]
SIXTH SESSION ON MAY 19. 313
found how these very voters (indirectly) rejected the
letter, since they demanded of Ibas that he should
acknowledge the Council of Ephesus and anathematise
Nestorius, the direct contrary of which was contained in the
letter.
The bishops then adduced some of the testimonies (vota)
given at Chalcedon, particularly that of Eunomius of
Nicomedia, to which the opposition particularly appealed, as
if he had blamed the first part of the letter, but commended
the second.1 They show that, by the words in posterioribus
recte confessus, not the latter part of the letter, but the later
confession of Ibas at Chalcedon, is meant. All the bishops at
Chalcedon had demanded from Ibas an anathema on
Nestorius, who was commended in that letter ; and Ibas had
given such an anathema ; and so had done it twice over.
On the one hand, he had denied the authorship of the letter ;
on the other hand, he had (indirectly) anathematised the
letter itself.2 The bishops, however, pass over the most
important votes in silence, namely, that of the papal legates
and that of the Patriarch Maximus of Antioch (vol. iii. sec.
196). The former said: "Relectis chartis agnovimus ex
sententia reverendissimorum episcoporum (the commission at
Tyre) Ibam innoxium probari. Eelecta enim ejus epistola
agnovimus eum esse orthodoxum." Similarly Maximus : KOI
eic TOV avayvwo-OevTos 8e avnypdfov 777? eViCTcX?}*? . . .
6/3$o£o£o<? UKJ>0rj avrov rj vTrayopia?
In order to make it more completely clear, by comparison,
that the letter to Maris is heretical, they caused a series of
documents of the Synods of Ephesus and Chalcedon to be
read, as follows : —
1. The second letter of Cyril to Nestorius (vol. iii. sec.
129), with some utterances of Cyril and other bishops at the
(Ecumenical Synod of Ephesus, bearing upon it.
2. The answer of Nestorius to Cyril (ib. and sec. 134)
again in connection with the judgments rendered at Ephesus.
1 This Votum is found here, and in the Acts of Chalcedon, only in the Latin
translation.
2 Mansi, t. ix. pp. 297-307 ; Hardouin, t. iii. pp. 139-147.
3 Hardouin, t. ii. p. 539 ; Mansi, t. vii. p. 262.
314 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
3. The letter of Coelestius of Eome to Nestorius.
4. The letter of Cyril and the Alexandrian Synod to
Nestorius, together with the twelve appended anathematisms
of Cyril (sees. 131 and 134).
5. From the minutes of the second session of Chalcedon
(sec. 190) they read, first, the demand of the imperial com-
missaries, that the bishops should now quickly declare the
true faith (sec. 190), and next the famous Epistola dogmatica
of Leo should be read (sec. 176). Also,
6. An expression of Bishop Atticus from the same
session of Chalcedon (sec. 190), from which it is plain
that the Synod had recognised the letter of Leo just
named, and also the letter of Cyril and his Synod to
Nestorius as an expression of the true faith, and had put
it into the hands of the bishops for their own more careful
guidance.
7. A number of other documents were taken from the
fourth session of Chalcedon : (a) a demand of the imperial
commissaries, that the bishops would now publish their view
on the faith without fear (sec. 192) ; (&) the second demand,
that they would lay their hand upon the Gospels and
declare whether the letter of Leo agreed with the creed of
Nicaea and Constantinople ; and (c) the votes of the bishops
on these subjects.
8. Finally, they brought forward, from the Acts of the
fifth session of Chalcedon, the confession of faith of this
Council, together with the creeds of Nicaea and Constantin-
ople inserted in it (see sec. 193).1
After this was done, the deacon and notary Thomas was
required to read a short document, prepared beforehand, in
which utterances of the Council of Chalcedon and statements
from the letter to Maris were set over against each other, in
order to show that the Council had taught the opposite of
that which was to be read in the letter. The Council said :
" God the Word has become flesh and man, is our Lord Jesus
Christ, one of the Trinity " ; the letter, on the contrary,
called everyone a heretic and an Apollinarist who spoke of
an incarnation and a becoming man of the Divine Word.
1 Mansi, t. ix. pp. 308-341 ; Hardouin, t. iii. pp. 147-166.
SIXTH SESSION ON MAY 19. 315
The Council called Mary the Godbearer ; the letter con-
tested this predicate. The Council declared its consent to
follow the decrees of Ephesus, and anathematised Nestorius ;
the letter insulted the Synod of Ephesus, and defended
Nestorius. The Council honoured Cyril as a teacher, and had
accepted his letter with the twelve anathematisms ; the letter
to Maris called Cyril a heretic, his anathematisms impious,
and blamed his doctrine of two natures and one person, and
of the Gommunicatio idiomatum. The Fathers of the Council
confess repeatedly that they teach exactly as Cyril did ; the
letter scoffs at the teaching of Cyril. The Council anathema-
tises all who introduce another creed; the letter praises
Theodore, who drew up an impious creed. Generally, the
doctrine of the letter was quite opposed to that of Chalcedon,
and even when it spoke of two natures, as did the Synod of
Chalcedon, it signified by that properly two persons, like
Nestorius.1
After all this the Synod pronounced the sentence : " The
transactions which have taken place show clearly that the
letter which Ibas is said to have written is thoroughly
contradictory to the declaration of faith of Chalcedon.
Therefore all the members of that Synod demanded that Ibas
should anathematise Nestorius, whom that letter defended,
and should subscribe the declaration of faith. In doing so
they showed that they regarded as invalid what one or two
had said in favour of that letter ; whilst these also united
with the others, and accepted Ibas only after he had done
penance and anathematised Nestorius, and had subscribed the
confession of faith of Chalcedon." All exclaimed : " The
letter is heretical ; we all condemn this letter ; it is foreign
to the Synod of Chalcedon. It is quite heretical, quite
blasphemous. Whoever accepts it is a heretic ; the declara-
tion of faith of Chalcedon condemned this letter. Anathema
to Theodore, to Nestorius, and to the letter ascribed to Ibas.
Whoever does not anathematise this letter insults the Synod
of Chalcedon. Many years to the Emperor ! many years to
the orthodox Emperor ! " 2
1 .Man si, t. ix. pp. 341-345 ; Hardouin, t. iii. pp. 167-170.
2 Mansi, t. ix. p. 345 sq. ; Hardouin, t. iii. p. 170.
316 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
SEC. 272. The Constitution of Vigilius, May 14, 533.
During the sessions of the Synod heretofore described,
Pope Vigilius prepared that comprehensive memorial to the
Emperor,1 of the composition of which he had already
informed the commissaries sent to him in the words: He
would within twenty days set forth his view of the three
chapters separately from the Synod (sec. 268). It is
headed, Constitutum Vigilii Papce de tribus capitulis, and
therefore is called Constitutum, and is dated May 14, 553,
from Constantinople, and is subscribed by sixteen other
bishops, besides Vigilius, and three Eoman clergy.2 Of those
sixteen bishops, nine were Italians — from Marsi, Scyllacium,
Silva Candida, Cingulum, Ariminum, Malta, Nomentum,
Lipara, Numana ; two Africans — from Nasaita and Adru-
metum ; two from Illyricum — from Ulpianum and Zappara ;
and three from Asia — from Iconium, Claudiopolis, and
Melitene in Armenia. The three Koman clerics were Arch-
deacon Theophanius and the two deacons Pelagius and Peter.3
The Constitutum begins by praising the Emperor for
having demanded declarations of faith from all the bishops,
with a view to removing the discord in the Church. Two
such, the Pope proceeds, had already been given, and he
inscribed them here verbally, namely, that of Mennas and
Theodore Ascidas, and the somewhat later one of Eutychius,
the new patriarch of Constantinople, and others (sec. 265).
He had wished that soon an assembly (Synod) might be held
in Italy or Sicily, in order to consider the subject of the
three chapters ; but the Emperor had not agreed to this, and,
on the contrary, had made the proposal to summon to Con-
stantinople, from Africa and other Western provinces, those
bishops whose names the Pope would put down, and whom he
1 It has been disputed whether and when the Synod received a sight of this
Constitutum from the Emperor. But this dispute is quite without foundation,
since the Emperor did not receive the Constitutum (and therefore could not
communicate it to the Synod), as we see from the statement of the imperial
Qurestor Constantine in the seventh session. Cf. below, sec. 273.
2 Reprinted in Mansi, t. ix. pp. 61-106 ; Hardouin, t. iii. pp. 10-47.
:t On these friends of the Pope, cf. Gamier, I.e. p. 555 ; Noris, I.e. t. i.
p. 622 sq.
THE CONSTITUTUM OF VIGILIUS, MAY 14, 533. 317
wished as councillors. Out of love for peace, he had assented.
A short time before Easter the Emperor had resolved that an
equal number of the bishops present in Constantinople should
consider the matter (i.e. as Vigilius understood it, as many
Greeks as Latins ; whilst the Emperor meant that the same
number of bishops should be chosen from each patriarchate).
Whilst, then, the Pope, in giving effect to his view of the
matter, was occupied with the three chapters, the officer of
the palace, Theodore, had handed him an imperial letter, not
many days before Easter l — an imperial letter in which
Justinian already pronounced his judgment on the three
chapters, and also demanded a declaration upon them from
the Pope (this means the edict which was read at the first
session of the fifth Synod, sec. 267). The Greek bishops had
not agreed to consider the matter in a number equal to that
of the Pope and his bishops, nor even that the Pope should
set forth his view in writing, on the assumption that he
would make concessions by word of mouth which he would
be afraid to put in writing. Moreover, the Emperor had
again sent officials to him with the demand that he would, as
soon as possible, make a declaration concerning the three
chapters. In order also to respond to this wish, he had now
asked for a delay of twenty days, in reference to his well-
known sickness, and had sent the deacon Pelagius to the
bishops with the explanation, that, as the customary way and
manner of meeting had not been observed they ought to wait
twenty days longer, and not, in opposition to the rule of the
Church, give their own judgment before the appearance of
the sentence of the apostolic see, by which course new
troubles might arise. He had now carefully examined the
Acts of the four old holy Synods, the decrees of his
predecessors, and the writings of other tried Fathers, in
regard to the matter of the three chapters, and had
scrutinised the paper codex which the Emperor had sent to
him through Bishop Benignus of Heraclea, in Pelagonia.2
1 Instead of ante mullos Paschte, we should read nan ante nmltos, etc., as
is clear from what goes before. Cf. Gamier, I.e. p. 555.
2 Pelagonia is a part of Macedonia. The text has here, by mistake
Paphlagonia. Cf. Noris, I.e. p. 603.
318 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
This contained, in its first part, many expressions (of Theodore
of Mopsuestia) which were thoroughly opposed to the orthodox
doctrine, which he therefore solemnly anathematised, and
thought well to embody in his Constitutum.
There now follow, in sixty numbers, the most of those
seventy-one passages from several books of Theodore of
Mopsuestia which we met with at the fourth session l
(sec. 269). Immediately after each of these verbally quoted
Capitula Theodori, Vigilius makes his Respotisio follow, in
which he endeavours to set forth briefly their heretical
character. After he had once more condemned them ex
apostolicce sententice auctoritate, he proceeds : As the codex
communicated to him by the Emperor ascribed these in-
famous passages to Theodore of Mopsuestia, he had thought
it necessary to inquire in the old Fathers what had been said
and concluded by them respecting Theodore. He had found
that S. Cyril, after the death of Theodore, had communicated
the following concerning him in a letter to John of Antioch : 2
"As the declaration of faith read at Ephesus, ascribed to
Theodore, contained nothing sound, the holy Synod had
rejected it, as full of perversities, and had condemned all who
thus thought. Of the person of Theodore, however, in
particular, they did not speak, did not anathematise him or
any other by name" (vol. iii. sec. 206). In the Acts of the
first Synod of Ephesus, he (Vigilius) had formed no judg-
ment at all on the person of Theodore, and it was clear that
Cyril, holding the priestly moderation in regard to the dead,
had not wished that Theodore's name should be inscribed in
the Acts, as he, lower down in his letter, also blamed those
who directed their arrows against the ashes of Theodore (vol.
iii. sec. 160). In proof that it was not right to anathematise
the dead, the Pope appeals further to some utterances of
Bishop Proclus of Constantinople, who declared that he had
demanded an anathema on the propositions of Theodore, but
1 These sixty numbers contain in No. 13 a fragment of Theodore which
was not contained among those fragments read at the fourth session. More-
over, Nos. 42 and 43 among the seventy-one are here combined into No. 42, so
that of the seventy-one there appear here properly sixty, and, in addition, one
new passage.
2 Mansi, t. v. p. 993. C. 206.
THE CONSTITUTUM OF VIGILIUS, MAY 14, 533. 319
not on his person. The Council of Chalcedon, too, Vigilius
goes on, had decreed nothing on the person of Theodore, and
had uttered nothing prejudicial thereto, whilst they had
referred with recognition and commendation to that letter of
John of Antioch and his Synod to Theodosius the younger,
then Emperor, in which Theodore is excused, and a con-
demnation of him after his death deprecated.1 And this
allocution the Emperor Justinian himself had adduced as
testimony in his edict on the sentence, " One of the Trinity
was crucified." The Pope said, he had further inquired
carefully what his predecessors had said on the question,
whether anyone who had not been anathematised in his
lifetime- could be anathematised after his death. Against
such harshness Leo and Gelasius had, in particular, declared
themselves, saying that the dead should be left to the judg-
ment of God. The Eoman Church, too, had always, in
practice, followed this rule, and in like manner Dionysius
the Great, of Alexandria, had indeed condemned the books of
the departed Bishop Nepos, because they contained chiliastic
error, but not his person (see vol. i. sec. 8). Accordingly,
the Pope said he did not venture to pronounce anathema on
the person of the departed Theodore of Mopsuestia, and did
not allow that others should do so. But it did not, in the
least, follow from this that he should tolerate or find
admissible those utterances ascribed to Theodore, or any
other heretical utterance.
In the second place, as regarded the writings circulated
under the name of Theodoret, he wondered that anything was
undertaken to the dishonour of this man, who, more than a
hundred years ago, had subscribed without hesitation the
sentence of Chalcedon, and had willingly given his assent to
the letters of Pope Leo. Although Dioscurus and the
Egyptian bishops at Chalcedon had called him a heretic, yet
the holy Synod, after a careful examination of Theodoret,
had required nothing else from him than that he should
anathematise Nestorius and his heresy. He had done this
with loud voice, and therewith had anathematised at
1 In their allocution to the Emperor Marcian, see vol. iii. sec. 193, and
Hardouin, t. ii. p. 650 ; Mansi, t. vii. p. 466.
320 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
Chalcedon all statements of Nestorian tendency, whenceso-
ever they might proceed (thus even if they proceeded from
himself). If these Nestorianising propositions were con-
demned, in connection with the name of Theodoret, this
would be an insult to the Synod of Chalcedon ; and it would
be the same as to say that some of its members (namely,
Theodoret) had on one side rejected the Nestorian heresies,
and on the other had upheld them. Nor should it be said
that the Fathers at Chalcedon had neglected to enter upon
the insults which Theodoret had cast upon the twelve
anathematisms of Cyril. On the contrary, this shows either
that Theodoret had not been guilty of this offence, or that
the Fathers had chosen to follow the example of Cyril, who,
at the union, passed over in silence all the insults of which
the Orientals had before that been guilty at Ephesus. By this,
that Theodoret solemnly accepted the doctrine of S. Cyril, he
had given him adequate satisfaction. For this reason also
nothing should now be undertaken to the dishonour of
Theodoret ; but the Pope anathematises all statements favour-
able to Nestorianism or Eutychianism, whether they are
circulated under the name of Theodoret or of any other. It
must certainly suffice that he (the Pope) should anathematise
Nestorius with Paul of Samosata and Bonosus, Eutyches with
Valentinus and Apollinaris, and all other heretics with their
heresies. He will, however, add specially five anathematisms.
1. If anyone does not confess that, without encroach-
ment on the unchangeableness of the divine nature, the Word
became flesh, and by the conception in human nature was
hypostatically united with it, but, on the contrary, says that
the Word united Himself with an already existing man, and
therefore does not call the holy Virgin in the full sense God-
bearer, let him be anathema.
2. If anyone denies the hypostatic union of the natures
in Christ, and says that God the Word dwelt in a separately
existing man, as one of the righteous, and does not confess an
hypostatic union of the natures, in such a manner that God
the Word remained one subsistence or person with the flesh
assumed, let him be anathema.
3. If anyone so separates the expressions of the Gospels
THE CONSTITUTUM OF VIGILIUS, MAY 14, 533. 321
and apostles, which refer to the one Christ, that he introduces
also a separation of the natures, let him be anathema.
4. If anyone says that the one Jesus Christ, the true
Son of God, and at the same time the true Son of man, had
no knowledge of the future, and specially of the last judg-
ment, and knew only so much of it as the Godhead, who dwelt
in Him as another, revealed thereof, let him be anathema.
5. If anyone understands the passage, Heb. v. 7, 8, only
of Christ stripped of the Godhead, . . . and introduces two
Sons, let him be anathema.
Finally, the Pope says he had instituted inquiries with
respect to the letter of the venerable Ibas, and, as he was not
himself acquainted with Greek, he had caused those who were
about him to look out this subject in the Acts of Chalcedon.
They had there found the testimonies (vota) of the papal
legates, of Anatolius of Constantinople and Maximus of
Antioch, which the Pope verbally inserted (see vol. iii. sec.
196, and above, sec. 271). It was clear that the legates of
the apostolic see regarded Ibas as orthodox after the reading
of his letter ; that Anatolius said : " From all that has been
read, the innocence of Ibas results " ; and Maximus : " From
the letter read his catholic confession is clear." The other
bishops had not only not contradicted, but evidently had
agreed. They had therefore found the confession of Ibas
orthodox ; because in the letter in question he had commended
the union between the Orientals and Cyril, and had accepted
the confession of faith of the union. The attacks on Cyril,
which Ibas allowed himself to make in his letter, from want
of complete knowledge, were not approved by the Fathers at
Chalcedon ; indeed they were condemned by Ibas himself upon
fuller information, as is shown by the testimony of Eunomius
in stating an historical fact : " Ilia quae culpaverat refutavit."
The testimony of Juvenal shows the same. Moreover, before
this, as is shown by the sentence of judgment of Photius and
Eustathius, Ibas had quite publicly recognised the decrees
of the first Ephesine Synod, and placed them beside those of
Nicaea, and had also had communion with Cyril after the
latter had explained his anathematisms. So long as he
misunderstood the propositions of Cyril, he had opposed them
IV. 21
322 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
in an orthodox sense ; but after better understanding, he had
himself accepted them.
At the second Synod of Ephesus (the Robber-Synod) he
had been wrongly deposed ; but the Synod of Chalcedon had
rightly declared and accepted him as orthodox ; he had given
adequate satisfaction, for his attacks on Cyril, which had
proceeded from ignorance. The Pope therefore declared that
the judgment of the Fathers at Chalcedon, as in all other
points, so in regard to the letter of Ibas, must remain
inviolate. No cleric must oppose this judgment, or venture
to alter the sentence of Chalcedon on the letter of Ibas as
incomplete. Let no one, however, suppose that this could
derogate from the letter of Cyril and his anathematisms, as
it was well known that Ibas, after the explanation of the
words of Cyril which ensued, had maintained Church com-
munion with him until his death. Moreover, no one must
maintain that the papal legates at Chalcedon (who led the
way in the restoration of Ibas to his bishopric) had
authority only in points of faith, but not in regard to the
restoration of wrongfully deposed bishops. Such an opinion
was contradicted by the express words of Pope Leo, who had
learned and confirmed all that had taken place at Chalcedon.
The same Leo had also repeatedly declared that nothing
was to be altered in the decrees of Chalcedon. So
Pope Simplicius, and Vigilius himself, in his letter to
Mennas (i.e. the Judicatum), of which five fragments were
communicated (see sec. 259). They must also abide by that
which was contained in the testimonies of the bishops and of
the papal legates at Chalcedon in regard to the letter of Ibas
and his person, and that must suffice for all Catholics which
that holy Synod had regarded as sufficient, when it declared :
" He shall only anathematise Nestorius and his doctrines."
The Constitutum finally closes with the words : " We ordain and
decree that it be permitted to no one who stands in ecclesi-
astical order or office, to write or bring forward, or undertake,
or teach anything contradictory to the contents of this
Constitutum in regard to the three chapters, or, after this
declaration, begin a new controversy about them. And if
anything has already been done or spoken in regard of the
SEVENTH SESSION, MAY 26. 323
three chapters in contradiction of this our ordinance, by any
one whomsoever, this we declare void by the authority of the
apostolic see." 1
SEC. 273. Seventh Session, May 26.
Immediately after the opening of the seventh session an
imperial commissary entered, in order, by his master's com-
mission, to give information respecting the conduct of Pope
Vigilius. The Paris codex places this seventh session on the
3rd of June ; the manuscript of Beauvais, on the contrary,
as well as that which Surius used, on the 26th of May ; and
the latter is to be preferred, since the 2nd of June is given
in all the MSS. without exception as the date of the eighth
session. Generally speaking, the manuscripts in regard to the
Acts of the seventh session differ more widely than at any other
place. The Paris codex, which we follow, is again much more
complete than the two others, which agree with one another.2
All three codices relate that after the reading of the
minutes of the earlier sessions, and before the Synod passed
to any new business, the quaestor of the imperial palace,
Constantine, entered, and spoke substantially as follows : 3
" You know how much the Emperor has always thought of
having the doubts respecting the three chapters resolved.
For this reason also he has required that Vigilius should
come to you, and draw up a decree on this matter in accord-
ance with the orthodox faith. Although, therefore, Vigilius
has already frequently condemned the three chapters in
writing, and has done this also by word of mouth in the
presence of the Emperor, imperial ministers, and many mem-
bers of this Council (sec. 259), and has smitten with
anathema all who defend Theodore of Mopsuestia, and the
letter ascribed to Ibas, and the writings of Theodoret against
Cyril, etc., yet he has refused to do this in communion with
'Gamier (l.c. p. 555) says of this Constitutum, it is "mirabili quadam
ratione compositum, ut nihil seculo sexto melius, et forte par edituni
reperiatur."
2 The Balleriui (in Noris, Opp. t. iv. p. 1037) raise objections which do not
seem sufficient against the additional matter of the Paris codex.
3 In regard to his sj)eech the three codices differ widely.
324 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
you and your Synod. . . . Yesterday Vigilius sent Servus-
Dei, a subdeacon of the Eoman Church, and invited Belisarius,
Cethegus, and some other high officers of State, as well as
Bishops Theodore Ascidas, Benignus, and Phocas, to come to
him, as he wished to give through them an answer to the
Emperor. They came, but speedily returned, and informed
the Emperor that Vigilius wished to give them a document
just prepared by him, in order that they might read it, and
then communicate it to the Emperor. As they hesitated
to receive it, the papal subdeacon Servus-Dei was now
standing at the door of the Emperor, in order to convey that
document to him. The Emperor, however, did not admit the
subdeacon, but sent him, by his minister, the following
answer to Vigilius : ' I invited you to take measures in com-
mon with the other patriarchs and bishops with respect to
the three chapters. You have refused this, and now wish,
for yourself alone, to give a judgment in writing (in the
Constitutum). But, if you have, in this, condemned the
three chapters, I have no need of this new document, for I
have from you many others of the same content. If, how-
ever, you have, in this new document, departed from your
earlier declarations, you have condemned yourself.' This
answer the Emperor gave only by word of mouth. Before,
however, you bring the matter in regard to the three chapters
quite to an end, the Emperor wishes to communicate to you
some more documents, namely, two letters from Vigilius, an
autograph to the Emperor, and one written by another hand,
but signed by him, to the Empress ; further, the edict in
which Vigilius deposed the Eoman deacons Eusticus and
Sebastian, etc., his letters to the Scythian Bishop Valerian,
and to Bishop Aurelian of Aries, and finally that written
promise, in which he had declared on oath that he would
anathematise the three chapters if his Judicatum were given
back to him, which was necessary (sees. 259, 260, and 261).
To-day the Emperor allowed the Western bishops and the
clergy of Vigilius, together with Bishop Vincentius of Clau-
diopolis, to meet together, and sent to them the patrician
Cethegus, myself, and others. We placed before them that
written promise of Vigilius, just named, to which the sub-
SEVENTH SESSION, MAY 26. 325
deacon Servus-Dei and Bishop Vincentius had affixed their
seal. This seal was broken, the document read, and Vin-
centius declared that he had then been still subdeacon in the
Eoman Church, and in this capacity had taken part in the
affair. — Further, by commission of the Emperor, I must
inform you that Vigilius and his clergy often said to the
Emperor, that he must maintain the state of the Church as
it was in the time of his father (adoptive father, Justin I.).
In order, therefore, to show that his father had the same
opinion with regard to the three chapters, the Emperor com-
municates to you his letter to Hypatius, the Magister militum
in the East. This letter was occasioned by an incident in
the city of Cyrus, where Theodoret's likeness was carried
round in triumph, and an ecclesiastical festival was celebrated
in honour of Theodore of Mopsuestia, Diodorus of Tarsus,
Theodoret, and Nestorius, which led to the deposition of
Sergius who was bishop there. All these documents it was
necessary to bring to the knowledge of the Synod." l
The bishops naturally agreed to this, and had read : —
1. The letter of Vigilius to the Emperor (sees. 259 and
267).
2. His letter to the Empress Theodora (ibid.).
3. The edict in which the Pope pronounced the deposi-
tion of Eusticus, Sebastian, and other Eoman clerics (sec. 260).
4. The letter of the Pope to the Scythian Bishop
Valeutinian (sec. 260).
5. The letter to Bishop Aurelian of Aries (ibid.).
6. The document in which the Pope asserted on oath
that he was willing bo anathematise the three chapters on
receiving back the Judicatum (sec. 261); and finally —
7. The letter of the Emperor Justin I. to Hypatius on
account of the incident in the city of Cyrus, August 7, 520.
The Synod declared that from this the zeal of the
Emperor for the true faith was clearly to be recognised, and
promised daily to pray for him. As, however, they wanted to
close the session, the quaestor Constantino presented one other
letter of the Emperor, containing the command, that the name
of Vigilius should be struck from all the diptychs, because,
1 Mansi, t. ix. pp. 346-351 ; Hardouin, t. iii. pp. 171-175.
326 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
through his defence of the three chapters, he had participated in
the impiety of Nestorius and Theodore. The Emperor, however,
did not mean by this entirely to break off' communion with
the apostolic see, neither did he wish the Synod to do so.1
The minutes inform us that this letter was read, and approved
by the Synod with the words : " This is in accordance with
the efforts of the Emperor for the unity of the Churches, and
we will preserve unity with the apostolic see of Old Borne."
It is remarkable that this letter of the Emperor is, in
the Acts, dated July 14, whilst the seventh session took
place on the 26th of May. Kemi Ceillier and Du Pin
inferred from this, that it could not have been read at the
seventh session, nor even at the eighth and last ; 2 but the
synodal minutes, as they stand in the Paris codex, places the
reading of this letter so decidedly and with such details at
the seventh session, that we prefer to believe that the
imperial edict was then, indeed, communicated to the Synod,
but that it was not until the 14th of July that it was
publicly posted up, and therefore it bears the date.3
SEC. 274. Eighth and last Session, June 2, 553.
It had already been determined, at the end of the
previous session, at once to publish the final judgment on the
matter of the three chapters, and the deacon and notary
Collonymus therefore read immediately the uncommonly
copious sketch of the synodal sentence which had been pre-
pared beforehand, probably by Eutychius and Ascidas. Its
beginning is still extant in Greek, the whole, however, only
in the old Latin translation ; and the substance of it is as
follows : " Because we saw that the adherents of Nestorius
were making the effort by means of the impious (impium =
1 Mansi, I.e. p. 366 ; Hardouin, I.e. p. 186.
2 Remi Ceillier, Hist, des auteurs sacrts, etc., t. xvi. p. 763; Du Pin,
Nouvelle Biblioth&qv£ des auteurt ecdteiastiques, t. v. p. 203.
3 Walch passes over this difficulty entirely, and maintains (Bd. viii. S. 239)
wrongly : "In all these documents I find 110 difference between the manuscripts,
whilst, however, in fact, only the Paris codex has this imperial letter and the
document No. 6 mentioned above. The Ballerini (in Noris, Opp. t. iv. p. 1036)
hold the imperial letter to be spurious on insufficient grounds (the date).
EIGHTH AND LAST SESSION, JUNE, 2, 553. 327
heretical) Theodore, who was bishop of Mopsuestia, and his
writings, moreover by that which Theodoret impiously wrote,
and by the shameful letter which is said to have been written
by Ibas to the Persian Maris, to impose their impiety upon
the Church of God, therefore have we risen up to prevent
this, and have come together, by the will of God and at the
command of the pious Emperor, in this city of the residence.
And, as Vigilius is also residing here, and has often con-
demned the three chapters, orally and in writing, and has
agreed in writing to take part in a Synod, and to take
counsel in common with us on the three chapters . . . the
Emperor exhorted both him and us to come together, and we
requested him to fulfil his promise, and drew his attention to
the apostolic Council and the old Synods. . . . We and the
Emperor sent frequently to him ; but he declared that he
wished to give his view of the three chapters in writing for
himself alone. After we received this answer, we remem-
bered the word of the apostle : ' Every one of us shall give
account of himself unto God' (Rom. xiv. 12), assembled at
the Synod, and first of all made confession of the orthodox
faith . . . united with an anathema on all who had been
condemned by the four previous holy Synods. We then
began the inquiry as to the three chapters, and first on
Theodore of Mopsuestia. His blasphemies were produced
from his books . . . and we were so angered thereby, that
we immediately anathematised Theodore by acclamation. . . .
Further, there were read utterances of the holy Fathers,
who opposed Theodore, and imperial laws, etc. (at the fifth
session), and the questions examined, whether heretics could
still be anathematised after their death, and whether Cyril
and Proclus really spoke in favour of Theodore (both points
were here, in the sentence, copiously discussed). Then there
was read a little from the writings of Theodoret against
Cyril, against the first Ephesine Synod, and the true faith,
also (at the sixth session) the supposed letter of Ibas was
read . . . and it was examined whether the latter had been
accepted by the Council of Chalcedon. In order to put aside
all objections, we also caused to be read utterances of S. Cyril
and Pope Leo (the Epistola dogmatica), and also presented the
328 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
declaration of faith of Chalcedon, in order to show that the
letter of Ibas was in entire contradiction to this. . . . The
testimonies (vota) of some few bishops at Chalcedon, however,
which seem favourable to the letter, cannot be adduced by
the opposition, since all the members of that Synod demanded
of Ibas an anathema upon Nestorius and his doctrines, also
on the contents of that letter. . . . We now condemn and
anathematise, with all other heretics who have been con-
demned and anathematised at the four holy Synods, and by
the holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, also Theodore,
formerly bishop of Mopsuestia, and his impious writings,
likewise that which Theodoret wrote impie against the true
faith, and against the twelve anathematisms of Cyril, against
the first Synod of Ephesus, and in defence of Theodore and
Nestorius. Besides this, we anathematise the impious letter
which Ibas is said to have written to Maris, in which it is
denied that God the Word became flesh and man of the holy
Godbearer and perpetual Virgin Mary. We also anathe-
matise the three chapters named, i.e. the impious Theodore of
Mopsuestia with his mischievous books, and what Theodoret
impie wrote, and the impious letter which Ibas is said to have
composed, together with their defenders who declare the
three chapters to be right, and who sought or shall seek
to protect their impiety by the names of holy Fathers or
of the Council of Chalcedon. Finally, we find it necessary
to put together the doctrine of truth and the condemnation
of heretics and their impiety into some chapters (anathe-
matisms).1
As these fourteen anathematisms, besides the old trans-
lation, are still extant in the Greek original text, we give the
latter with a German (English) translation added, and remark
at the same time that these anathematisms are, to a large
extent, verbally identical with those contained in the
Emperor's 6fj,o\oyia 2 (sec. 263).
1 Mansi, t. ix. pp. 367-375 ; Hardouin, t. iii. pp. 187-194.
2 They have several improvements over the earlier statements, how-
ever, as is shown by Gamier, who highly commends them, in his Diss.
de T. Synodo, in Schulze's edition of the works of Theodoret, Bd. v. S.
567.
EIGHTH AND LAST SESSION, JUNE 2, 553. 329
I.
Ei ri<f ov% o/toXo7et TraTjOo? /cat vlov /cat 07401; rrvevparos
p.iav (j)V(7ti>, rjroi ovaidv, piav re Svvafjiiv /cat e^ovcriav,
rpidSa 6/jioovffiov, fj,iav deorrjra ev rpurlv vrroo~rdcreo~iv tfyovv
7r/Do<7co7rot9 TTpoa-KvvovfjLevTjv' o roiovros dvdOe^a ecrrw et9
•yap #eo9 teal rrarrjp, e'£ ov ra rrdvra, /cat el? /cvpto9 'I^aoO?
Xpicnos, Si ov ra Travra, KOI ev Trvev^a ayiov, ev w ra Trdvra.
If anyone does not confess that the Father, the Son, and
the Holy Ghost have one nature or essence, one power and
might ; (or does not confess) the co-essential [consubstantial]
Trinity, one Godhead in three hypostases or persons wor-
shipped, let him be anathema. For there is one God and
Father of whom are all things, and one Lord Jesus Christ
through whom are all things, and one Holy Spirit in whom
are all things.
II.
Ei rt? ov% oyttoXoyet, rov 6eov \6<yov elvai TO? Bvo yevvijffeis, rrjv
re Trpo aiwvcov e/c rov rrarpos, d%p6vQ)<> /cat da'Wfidro)^, rr)v re eV
IfYaTHV rwv Tjpepwv, rov avrov fcare\@6vro$ etc rwv ovpavwv,
/cat <rapKodevro<s etc rrj<; d<yia<; €vS6!;ov OeoroKov /cat denrapdevov
Maplas, /cat ryevvrjOevros e£ avrr)<? 6 roiovros avdOepu ecrrat.
If anyone does not confess that there are two births of
God the Word, the one from eternity of the Father, out of
time and incorporeal, and the other in the last days, in that
He came down from heaven, and was made flesh of the holy,
glorious Godbearer, and ever- virgin Mary, and was born of her,
let him be anathema.
III.
Ei Tt? \eyei, a\\ov elvai rov deov \6yov l rov dav/jM-
rovpyi)<rdvra, /cat a\\ov rov Xpiarbv rov rradovra, rj rbv 6ebv
\6yov o-vvelvai \eyei rut Xpiaraj yevofievy e/c yvvaiKOf, TJ ev
avrw elvai &>? a\\ov ev a\\<p, a\\' ov% eva /cat rov avrbv
Kvpiov TH^WV 'Irj&ovv Xpiarbv, rbv rov 6eov \6yov, aapicwdevra
/cat evavdpwrrrjfravra, /cat rov avrov ra re davpara /cat ra
rrddr), arrep e/coi/<rt&)9 vTre/jieive aapici o rotoOro? dvddefia etrrw.
1 In Mansi, t. ix. p. 337, by a typographical error, x«y«» is wanting.
330 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
If anyone says that the Word of God who worked miracles
is one, and that Christ who suffered is another ; or says that
God the Word is become the same as the Christ who was
born of a woman, or is in Him as one is in another, and that
it is not one and the same our Lord Jesus Christ, the Word
of God, who became flesh and man, and that the miracles
which He wrought and the sufferings which He voluntarily
endured in the flesh are not His, let him be anathema.
IV.
Ei rt<? \eyei, Kara %dptv, 77 Kara evepyeiav, 17 Kara lo~ori-
fiiav, i) Kara avdevriav, r) dva<f>opdv, rj o-^ecrtv, r) SvvafALV, rrjv
rov 6eov \6yov 77/305 avOpwirov yeyevfjcrdai, r} Kara,
iav, <as ape&Oevros rov Otov \6yov rov dvQputTrov, airo
rov ev Kal /raXw? S6£at avra> Trepl avrov, /ea#&>5 0eo8a>po5
/j,aiv6fjb€vo<f Xeyefc, r) Kara Ofj,(avvp,iav, tcaff1 r)v ol Necrroptavol
rov Oebv \6jov 'Irj&ovv (perhaps vlov) Kal Xpi(rrov KaXovvres,
Kal TOP avdpwnov /ce^6>pKT/u.ez/&><? Xpurrbv Kal vibv 6vo/j,d^ovre<;,
Kal Bvo TTpocrwira irpofyav&s \eyovres, Kara fjuovrjv rrjv Trpoo~-
rjjopuiv Kal ri/Mrjv Kal d£iav Kal TrpocrKVvrjaiv, Kal ev TrpoaajTrov
Kal eva Xpttrrbv VTroKplvovrai \jyw aXX' ov% 6fjLO\o<yel rrjv
€vco(7iv rov Oeov \6jov TT/OO? <rdpKa epL^rv^u>p,evr)V tyvxfi \oyiKrj
Kal voepa, Kara avvOecnv fyyovv KaO' vTrocrraa'iv ryeyeirrja-dai,
Kadaxi ol ayioi Trarepe? e8lSa£av Kal Sia rovro fiiav avrov rtjv
vTroo~ra(Tiv, o eo~riv o Kvpios 'I^croO? Xpicrros, et? r?}? dyuis
o rotoOro? dvdOepa eara)' Tro\vrporir(f><j jap voov/j,evr)<i
s, ol fjiev rf) ao-e/Se/a 'ATro\\ivapiov Kal
dKo\ovdovvres, rut d^avia/jLO) rwv avve\6ovrwv
rrjv Kara crv<~/^vcriv rrjv evao-iv Trpecrflevovo-iv ol 8e ra Geo-
Scopov Kal Nea-roplov typovovvres, rp Statpetret %atpovr€<s,
aysri,K.r)v rijv evwcrw eTreKTayovaw 17 [tevrot dyia rov Oeov
€KK\r)<ria e/care'pa? atpeo-eeo? rr)v dcrefieiav a7roj8a\Xo/Liei/77, ryv
evwcriv rov deov 7rpo<? rrjv a-dpxa Kara crvvOeo'iv Ofj,o\oyei, OTrep
eo-ri Ka0' V7r6o-rao-iv f) yap Kara <rvvdecnv opoXoyei, OTrep
ecrrl ica& vTroo'rao'iv' rj yap Kara <rvv6ecriv e^wtrt? eVt rov
Kara Xpurrov ftv&rrjpiov, ov /JLOVOV affvy^yra ra o~vve\Qbvra
&ia<f>v\drrei, aXA,' ouSe §Laipeaiv eTn^e^erai.
If anyone says that the union of God the Word with
EIGHTH AND LAST SESSION, JUNE 2, 553. 331
man has taken place only by grace, or by operation, or by
equality of honour and distinction, or by a carrying up and
condition (see No. 6), or by power, or by good pleasure, as
though God the Word were pleased with man, from its
seeming well and good to Him concerning him — as the
raving Theodore says ; or that it has taken place through the
sameness of name, according to which the Nestorians call
God the Word Jesus (Son) and Christ, and so name the man
separately Christ and Son, and so clearly speak of two
persons, and hypocritically speak of one person and of one
Christ only according to designation, and honour, and dignity,
and worship. But if anyone does not confess that the
union of God the Word with the flesh enlivened by a
reasonable and thinking soul, according to synthesis (com-
bination), or according to hypostasis, as the holy Fathers said,
and that therefore there is only one person, namely, the Lord
Jesus Christ, one of the Holy Trinity, let him be anathema.
As, however, the word union (eWcrt?) is taken in different
senses, those who follow the impiety of Apollinaris and
Eutyches, assuming a disappearance of the natures which
come together, teach a union by confusion ; whilst the
adherents of Nestorius and Theodore, rejoicing in the
separation, introduce a merely relative union. The Holy
Church of God, on the contrary, rejecting the impiety of
both heresies, confesses the union of God the Word with the
flesh by a combination, i.e. personally. For the union by
combination (synthesis) not only preserves, in regard to the
mystery of Christ, that which has come together (the two
natures) unconfused, but allows of no separation (of the
persons).
V.
El T4? rrjv fjiiav VTroaraGiv rov Kvpiov rj^wv 'Ir)<rov Xpi<r-
rov
<Tr)fjt,affiav, KOI 8ia rovro ela'dyeiv eTTi^eipei eni TOV Kara
Xpiarbv fivcmypiov Bvo uTrocrTacrei? ijrot 8vo Trpocrwira, KOI
rwv Trap dvrov el&ayofjievtav 8vo rrpoawTrtav
\eyei Kara d£iav icai Tifj.r)v Kai TTpotr/cuvrjcriv, KaBdirep
KOL Nea-ropios fUUVOftoroi ffvveypd-^ravro' teal crvKo^avTt-i rrjv
332 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
dyiav ev Xa\Kr)&6vi (rvvoSov, &>? Kara ravrrjv rrjv dtre^rj
evvoiav ^prja-afievijv ro3 rr)? /Lu'as" inroffrdaeu)^ prj^an, d\\a
fir) ofMoXoyei rov rov 0eov \6yov (rapid naff vTroaratriv
evcadrjvai, /cat Bia rovro /j,iav avrov rrjv viroa-raa-iv, rjroi
ev Trpoa-arrrov, ovra)<} re ical rrjv ayiav ev Xa\Kt}86vi
(rvvoSov fjiiav vTToa-raffiv rov Kvpiov rjfiwv 'Irja-ov Xpta-rov
6/j,o\oyija-ai' o rotovros avdOepa e<rr<w. Ovre jap Trpocr-
Trpoa&TTov ijyovv VTroGrdaew? eTreSe^aro f/ dyia
as, KOI a-apKQ)0evro<; rov evbs r^9 ayias, rpiaSos 6eov
\6yov.
If anyone so understands the expression, one Hypostasis
of our Lord Jesus Christ, that thereby is meant the
designation of the union of many hypostases, and hereby
undertakes to introduce into the mystery of Christ two
hypostases or two persons, and often having introduced two
persons, speaks of one person according to dignity, honour,
and worship, as Theodore and Nestorius in their madness
maintained ; and if any one slanders the holy Synod in
Chalcedon, as though it had used the expression, one hypos-
tasis, in this impious sense, and does not confess that the
Word of God was personally united with flesh, and that
therefore there is only one hypostasis or one person, as also
the holy Synod in Chalcedon confessed one hypostasis of our
Lord Jesus Christ, — let him be anathema ! For the holy
Trinity, when God the Word, one of the holy Trinity was
incarnate, did not suffer the addition of a person or
hypostasis.
VI.
Ei T£<? icara'Xpria'riKws, aXX' OVK a\rj0M<j, OeoroKov \eyei
rrjv dyiav evSo^ov denrapOevov Mapiav, rj Kara dvafyopav,
a><> dv6p<i)7rov TJn\ov <yevwr)@evro<>, aXV ou^i rov Oeov \6yov
o-apKwdevros (xal rfjs) l e£ avrrjs, dvd<f>epo/J,evr)<; 8e (/car'
eiceivov) TT}? rov dvOpwirov yevvrfcrews eirl rov Oebv \6yov, to?
(Tvvovra TW dvOpayiro) yevofievy Kal <rvKO<f)avrel rrjv dyiav ev
1 Here and some words lower down the text is corrupt. The old Latin
translator read *«/ yt»»v0ii>ri>s i% alrnt, for he gives: "Et nato ex ipsa."
Instead of the following x«r' Us/vow, he has: " Sicut illi (sc. Theodore and
Nestorius) dicunt."
EIGHTH AND LAST SESSION, JUNE 2, 553. 333
Xa\Kr)86vi, (rvvo&ov, o>9 Kara ravrrjv rrjv d<ref3f) emvorjOelaav
rrapa SeoStapov evvoiav deoroKov rrjv rrapdevov elrcovaav' rj
et T4<? avOpwrcoroKov avrrjv KaXel, rj XpicrroroKov, co? rov
Xpiarov /j,rj oWo<? 6eov, a\Xa p,rj Kvputq KOL icar d\ij6eiav
Qeoroicov avrrfv 6/40X076?, Bia TO rov rrpo rwv aiottvcw e/c rov
Trarpos yevvrjOevra Oeov Xoyov eV €<r%dra>v rwv rjfjiepwv ef;
avrr}<f (rapKa>0f)vai,, ovrco re eucre/3w? ical rffv dfylav ev Xa\fcr)-
Sovi crvvoBov OeoroKov avrrjv 6fjio\o<yri<rat' o roiovros dj/ddefia
If anyone says that the holy, glorious, ever-virgin Mary
is called Godbearer by abuse and not truly, or by analogy,
as though a mere man were born of her, and not as though
God the Word were incarnate of her, but that the birth of a
man were connected with God the Word, because HE was
united with the man born ; and if anyone slanders the holy
Synod of Chalcedon, as though, in accordance with this
impious opinion held by Theodore, it called the virgin God-
bearer ; or, if anyone calls her manbearer or Christbearer,
as though Christ were not God, and does not confess her as
Godbearer, in the proper sense and in truth, because God
the Word, who was begotten of the Father before all worlds,
was incarnate of her in the last days ; and (does not confess)
that in this pious sense the holy Synod of Chalcedon con-
fessed her to be Godbearer, — let him be anathema.
VII.
Ei rt? ev Svo <f>v(T€fft \eywv, pr) to? ev Oeorrjn icai avdpta-
rov eva tcvpiov ^fiwv 'Ir/a-ovv Xpicrrbv yvmpi^ea-Bai,
ofjLo\oyel, 'iva Sia rovrov (TTjf^dvr) rrjv Bia<f)opav rwv <f>v<reti)v,
e£ <ui> da-wyxvrax; rj a<J)paa-ro<; evcoaK; yeyovev, ovre rov \6yov
et? rrjv TT)S aap/co<t per cm 'onjOevTO^ <J)vcriv, ovre rr)<; capicos
7T/309 rov \oyov (frvcriv fi.era%(i)p'r)(rdo~Ti<}) — fj,evei jap exdrepov
oirep ea-rl rfj <f>vaei, KOI yevofjuevv)? rijs evcoo-ew? icad' vrcoa-
raaiv, — l aXX' errl Siaipeaei rfj dva /ze'po? rr)v roiavrrjv
\a/j,/3dvet (jxavrjv eVt roO Kara Xpta-rov fiva-rijpiov, rj rov
1 The text in Mansi, t. ix. p. 381, is in this passage corrupt. I follow
Hardouin and the text, as it is repeated in the Acts of the sixth (Ecumenical
Council. In Mansi, t. ix. p. 402 ; Hardouin, t. iii. pp. 207 and 1091.
334 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
rwv (f>v(rea>v ofjioXoyo^v €7rl rov avrov evbs Kvpiov
'Iqcrov rov Oeov \6yov aapKwdevros, JJLTJ rfj Oewpia fjiovp
rrjv Sict(f)opav rovrwv Xafiftdvei, e£ wv Kal trvvereOrj, OVK
dvaipovfievrjv Bid rrjv evoxriv, — etV <yap e£ dpfyolv, Kal 8t'
evb$ dfMporepa — a\V eVt rovro) Ke^prjrai ru> dpiBrjQ), co?
Ke%(0pi<r/j,eva<; ftal iSiovTroo-rdTovs e%ei TO? <f>v<r€LS' 6 TOIOVTOS
If anyone, speaking of the two natures (see vol. in. sec. 173),
does not confess that he acknowledges in the Godhead and man-
hood the one Lord Jesus Christ, so that by this he signifies the
difference of natures, of which the unspeakable union takes
place without confusion, without the nature of the Word
being changed into that of the flesh, nor that of the flesh into
the nature of the Word — for each remains what it was in
nature after the personal union has taken place — or who
takes that expression in reference to the mystery of Christ
in the sense of a separation into parts, or, confessing the two
natures in relation to the one Lord Jesus, the incarnate Word
of God, takes the difference of these of which HE was composed,
but which is not destroyed by the union — for HE is one of
both, and through one both — takes this difference not as an
abstraction, but uses the duality in order to separate the
natures, and to make them separate persons (hypostases),
— let him be anathema.
VIII.
El -m CK Bvo (pvaecav, QeoTrjTos Kal
opoXo'ywv rrjv evaxnv yeyevrjcrdat, rj y^'iav <f>vcriv rov Oeov
\6<yov (recrapKWfjievTjv A.ey&Ji', jj,r) ovrcos avrd \a/jL^dvp,
KaOaTrep Kal ol ayiot Trdrepes €&i8al;av, on €K rfjs Betas
<f>vcrea)<; Kal rfjs dvdpwirwrjs, rfjs e^oxreto? /ca0' vTroa-racriv
, e?5 Xpierro? aTrereXecr^T;, aXX,' e/c rwv TOIOVTWV
jjiiav <f>vcriv ijroi ovcrtav, Oeorijros Kal crapKos rov
Xpio-rov elffdyeiv eVt^ei/oet' o rotoOro? dvdOefia earw. Kad*
vTroarao'iv yap ^yovres rov fiovoyewfj \6yov T)v5xr6ai, OVK
dvd%v<rtv rwa rrjv et? a\\7;Xoi»5 rwv (frixrecov Tr
v<Ti]s 8e fid\\ov eKarepas, OTrep eo~rlv,
i voov/J,€V rov \6<yov. 810 Kal el? eanv o Xpicrrbs, ^€09
EIGHTH AND LAST SESSION, JUNE 2, 553. 335
Kal dv6poiTro<i, 6 aurcx? oftooycrto? TO) jrarpl Kara rrjv Qeoryra,
teal onoovo-tos rjfj.lv 6 auros* Kara rrjv dvdpo)7r6rtjra. eTrwn/9
yap Kal TOW ava /xepo? Biaipovvras 77x04 refivovras, Kal TOUS
o-try^eovTa? TO TT)? 6eias olxovCfjUd^ pvo-njpiov rov Xpio-rov,
('nrocrrp€<f)erai Kal dvaOefiarifa rj rov 6eov eKKKrjo-ia.
If anyone does not take the expressions, of two natures,
the Godhead and the manhood, the union took place, or, the
one incarnate nature of the Word, as the holy Fathers taught,
that from the divine nature and the human, personal union
having taken place, one Christ was constituted, but endeavours,
by such expressions, to bring in one nature or essence of the
Godhead and manhood of Christ, let him be anathema. For,
when we say that the only-begotten Word was personally
united, we do not say that a confusion of the natures with
each other has taken place ; but rather we think that, whilst
each nature remains what it is, the Word has been united
with the flesh. Therefore, also, there is one Christ, God and
man, the same who is of one substance with the Father as to
His Godhead, and of one substance with us as to His manhood.
For the Church of God equally condemns and anathematises
those who separate and cut asunder the mystery of the divine
economy of Christ, and those who confess it. (See sees. 127,
158, 193, 269.)
IX.
Et n,f rrrpo<TKwelo~6ai, ev Svcrl </>vcre<74 \eyei rov Xpicrrov,
e£ ov &vo irpocrKWijaei^ ela-dyovrai, IBia ra) 6ea) \6<yq), Kal
iSia ru> dvOpwrrto' rf ei Tt9 eVt dvai-peo-ei rrjs aapKO?, rj
€7rl <rvy%v<T€i T^? dforyros Kal TT)<? dv0pa>Tr6rr)ro<>, 77 fjbiav
(f>v(Tiv rfjovv ovaiav rwv avveXdovrwv reparevoiievos, ovrw
TrpoffKVvel rov Xpiarbv, d\\' ov^l /j,ia TrpocrKvvija-ei rov Oeov
\6yov aapKwOevra fj,era rr)s' i'Sta? avrov aapKos TrpocrKVvfl,
KaOdtrep rj rov deov 6KK\ij<Tia TrapeXafiev e^ upXW ° TOiovros
dvddefia earco.
If anyone says that Christ is to be worshipped in two
natures, by which two kinds of worship are introduced, the
one for God the Word, the other for the man ; or if anyone,
by taking away the flesh, or by confusion of the Godhead and
manhood, or preserving only one nature or essence of those
336 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
which are united, thus worships Christ, and does not worship
God made flesh together with His flesh with one worship, as
the Church of God received from the beginning, — let him be
anathema.
X.
Ei TIS oi>% 6/jLO\oyel, rov ea-ravpmfievov <rapKL tcvptov
'Ivjaovv Xpurrov elvcu 6eov d\r)6wov, teal Kvptov rrj<i
teal eva Trjs ay las rpidSos' o TOIOVTOS avdBefia ecrTtw.
If anyone does not confess that our Lord Jesus Christ
crucified in the flesh is true God, and Lord of glory, and one
of the Holy Trinity, let him be anathema.
XL
Ei Tt? fir) dvaOefiari&i, "Apeiov, 'Evvo/jiiov, MaiceSoviov,
'Airo\\ivdpiov, Neo-ropiov, 'Ewv%ea, Kal 'flpiyevrjv, //.era TCOV
daeftwv avrwv trvyy pa/Andrew, Kal TOU? aXXou? irdvra^
alperiKoix; Toy? KaraKpi6evra<; Kal dvaQeparicrdevTas viro
rfjs a<ytas Kado\tKrj<; Kal dTrocrToXiKfjs eKKXrjcrlas, Kal rwv
Trpoeiprjfievwv dylwv Tecrcrdpaiv (rvvoSwv, Kal roO? ra o/j.oia
TWV irpoeiprifjievwv aiperiKwv <bpovr)(ravTa<$ fj (frpovovvras, Kal
ecrrw.
If anyone does not anathematise Arius, Eunomius,
Macedonius, Apollinaris, Nestorius, Eutyches, and Origen,
together with their impious writings, and all other heretics
condemned and anathematised by the Catholic and Apostolic
Church and by the four holy Synods already mentioned,
together with those who have been or are of the same mind
with the heretics mentioned, and who remain till the end in
their impiety, let him be anathema.
Halloix, Garnier, Basnage, Walch and others suppose,
and Vincenzi maintains with great zeal, that the name of
Origen is a later insertion in this anathematism, because (a)
Theodore Ascidas, the Origenist, was one of the most
influential members of the Synod, and would certainly have
prevented a condemnation of Origen ; further, (b) because in
this anathematism only such heretics would be named as had
EIGHTH AND LAST SESSION, JUNE 2, 553. 337
been condemned by one of the first four (Ecumenical Synods,
which was not the case with Origen ; (c) because this anathe-
matism is identical with the tenth in the opciXoyia of the
Emperor (sec. 263), but in the latter the name of Origen is
lacking ; and, finally, (d) because Origen does not belong to the
group of heretics to whom this anathematism refers. His
errors were quite different.1
All these considerations seem to me of insufficient strength,
on mere conjecture, to make an alteration in the text, and
arbitrarily to remove the name of Origen. As regards the
objection in connection with Theodore Ascidas, it is known
that the latter had already pronounced a formal anathema on
Origen, and certainly he did the same this time, if the Emperor
wished it or if it seemed advisable. The second and fourth
objections have little weight. In regard to the third (c), it is
quite possible that either the Emperor subsequently went
further than in his 6/j,o\.oyia, or that the bishops at the fifth
Synod, of their own accord, added Origen, led on perhaps by
one or another anti-Origenist of their number. What, how-
ever, chiefly determines us to the retention of the text is —
(a) that the copy of the synodal Acts extant in the Roman
archives, which has the highest credibility, and was probably
prepared for Vigilius himself, contains the name of Origen in
the eleventh anathematism;2 and (&) that the monks of the
new Laura in Palestine, who are known to have been zealous
Origenists, withdrew Church communion from the bishops of
Palestine after these had subscribed the Acts of the fifth
Synod.3 In the anathema on the three chapters these
Origenists could find as little ground for such a rupture as
their friend and former colleague Ascidas : it could only be by
the Synod attacking their darling Origen. (c) Finally, only on
the ground that the name of Origen really stood in the
eleventh anathematism, can we explain the widely-circulated
ancient rumour that our Synod anathematised Origen and
the Origenists. (See sec. 255 and 267.)
1 Walch, Ketzerhist. Bd. viii. S. 284 ff. ; Al. Vincenzi. in S. Oregorii
Nysseni et Origenis Scripta, etc. (See sec. 267.)
* Noris, I.e. t. i. pp. 643, 642, 638 sqq.
8 Cyrill. Scythopol., Vita Sabse, c. 90. (See sees. 267 and 275.)
IV. 22
338 HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS.
XII.
EL n<i dvriTTOieirai OeoScapov rov d<re/3ovs, rov Mo-fyovea-
rias, rov ei7roWo9, aXXop elvai rov 6ebv \6yov teal uXXoy rov
Xpiffrbv vrro rraBwv ^v^rj^ Kal rwv rfjs <rapKo<s
real ru>v ^eipovcav Kara piKpov
r)<$ epycav (3e\ri(00€vra, Kal eic iro\ireia<;
fj,ov Karaardvra, 009 tyiXbv avOpwrrov /3a7rri(r0fjvai elf ovo/jua
7TOT/30?, Kal vlov, Kal ajiou TTvevfMaros, Kal 8ia rov
paros rrjv %dpiv rov ayiov rrvevfiaro<j Xdftew, Kal
d^cwBrjvat, Kal /car' Icrorrjra /3acri\t,Krj<$ eiKovos els rrpoawrcov
rov 0eov \6yov rrpocrKweicrOai, /cat pera rrjv dvdcrracriv
arperrrov rat? eWo/at?, Kal dvafidpTTjrov rravre\5)<; yeve<T0ai'
Kal rr<i\w eiprjKoros rov avrov ao~e(Bov<$ OeoSwpov, rrjv evwo~w
rov Oeov \6yov TT^O? rov Xpiarov roiavrrjv jeyevfja'dai, olav o
d7ro<rToXo9 eVt dv&pbs Kal yvvaiKO*;' " eaovrai 01 &vo elf
aapKa fAiav" Kal Trpbs rats a\Xat9 dvapiOfjiijrois avrov /S\acr-
(jyrj/Aiais ro\[iri<Tavro<; elrreiv, ori pera rrjv dvdcrrac'iv eyLK^utr^aa?
o Kvpios TOi9 /ia^rafc?, Kal elrrwv" " Adftere Trvevfia aytov,"
ovoeScoKev avrois irvevfjia ayiov, aXXa cr^ijfjiari, \iovov eve<f)va''r]<r€'
OVTO9 8e Kal rrjv 6/1.0X07 /ay Q&V^, "J"7)^ ^^ Tf} ^^Xa^^o-et rwv
'Xeipwv Kal 7^9 7rXev/aa9 rov Kvpiov fiera rr)v dvda-raa-iv, TO
" 6 Kvpios fj,ov Kal 6 0eo9 JJLOV " elire, fir] elprj^Bai rrepl rov
Xpivrov rrapa rov Scapa, aXX' eirl ra> TrapaSo^tp rij<; dvacr-
Tao-ea)9 eKirXayevra rov Swfiav vfj,vfjaai rov Oeov, rov eyeipavra
rov Xpterov TO 8e %etpov, Kal ev ry rwv rrpd^ewv rwv
yevofievrj Trap1 avrov orjdev epfjiiyveia, (rvjKpivcav 6
Sa)po<i rov Xpi&rbv H\drwvi, Kal Mavi%ai(a, Kal
'EiriKovpm, Kal MapKiwvi, \eyei on, wvrrep eKeivwv e/cao-TO9
evpdfievo^ olKelov Soyfia, rovs avr<p fiaOrjrevcravras rrerroLrjKe
Ka\ei<T0at II\ara)viKov<;, Kal Mavi%a£ov<;, Kal 'EirtKovpeiov*;, Kal
MapKiovia-rds, rov opoiov rporrov Kal rov Xpicrrov evpafievov
Soyfia, ej; avrov xpta-riavovs Ka\elcr6ai' El T49 roivvv
dvnrroielrai. rov elprjftevov a<Tepe<rrdrov OeoScapov Kal rfav
d<ref3<av avrov airfypa^drwv, ev o?9 Tao- Te elpr)fieva<t Kal
aXXa9 dvapi0/j,rjrovs j3\acr(f)i]fji,ia<} e^e^ee Kara rov /j,e<yd\ov
6eov KOI <r(arf)po<; rjfjiwv 'J^o-oO Xpiarov' aXXa firj dvad
avrov Kal ra da-ejSfi avrov <TvyypdfjL/j,ara, Kal rrdvras
8e%ofji,evov<i r} Kal eK^iKovvra^ avrov, r) Xeyoi/ra?, op0oS6i~fi}s
EIGHTH AND LAST SESSION, JUNE 2, 553. 339
avrov €K0€(r0ai, Kal roi»9 ypd-^ravra^ inrep avrov teal rwv
curefttav avTov crvyypafjifjLdTGov, /cal rot)? ra o/j,oia (frpovovvras
•f) (j>povrjo-avra<{ Trwirore, Kal t^e^pi, reXou? efLfielvavras rfj
ToiavTy alp&rei' avdOepa ea-ro).
If anyone defends the impious Theodore of Mopsuestia,
who says (a) God the Word is one, and another is Christ who
was troubled with sufferings of the soul and desires of the
flesh, and who by degrees raised himself from that which was
more imperfect, and by progres